


A Month of Skyeward

by Jellybean96



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AU, Bank Robbery, Battle Couple, Battleship, Canon Divergence, Dark!Skyeward, Descriptions of torture aftermaths, F/M, Fluff, Hellfire, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Late Night Baking, OOC, Romance, SHIELD Academy, Skyeward Month, Vault D, mentions of torture, quake - Freeform, quakefire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-17 01:29:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4647234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/pseuds/Jellybean96
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A month (kind of) full of different Skyeward prompts from a Tumblr post.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Most Intense Game

**Author's Note:**

> Hey babes! So, over on Tumblr, there's this going on starting today. It's Skyeward Month. So I'm going to be writing a little one-shot for almost every one of the days. So here's the first installment. The prompt: Battleship.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battleship can become very intense.

"So what are you all thinking?" Bobbi asks the two cadets in the room.

"Is it always this intense?" One of the cadets, Michael, asks.

"Sometimes it's pretty tame," Bobbi informs the young cadets.

"Although their first game after they were reunited was really intense," Hunter states.

"How so?" The other cadet, Hannah, asks.

"They destroyed an entire room," Hunter replies.

"What?" Hannah goes wide-eyed. "How do you tear an entire room apart by playing Battleship?"

"Oh," Bobbi laughs, "you're be surprised by what can happen when those two start playing battleship."

"Were they always so competitive?" Michael asks.

"I don't know," Bobbi replies. "The first time I saw them play was a few weeks after he came back. That first game they played here at the base, the room they used had to be completely redone."

"Do you know why?" Hannah asks.

"Let's just say someone wasn't in complete control of her emotions and let them get the best of her, resulting in a tiny earthquake within the room."

"Wait, seriously?"

Bobbi nods her head, "Yeah. And I was the one in charge of the room repairs, so I hand an up close and personal look at the damage done. It was pretty crazy.

"Wow. How long did it take to fix it?"

"Not as long as you would think," Bobbi says. "But it was pretty hard work for the contractors who actually had to fix everything."

"Damn it, Skye!"

Turning towards the shatterproof one-way window, Bobbi, Hunter, Michael, and Hannah watch as the scene plays out in front of them.

"Keep your hands off the table," Grant demands. "I told you this already. Now stop cheating."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Skye says innocently.

"Yes you do," he replies. "You have your hands on the table and you're using your abilities to feel the vibrations of where my game pieces are on the board."

"First of all, that was actually a pretty good example of what I can do, so kudos to you for that. Second of all, even without my hands on the table to feel the vibrations of the game pieces, which I'm not doing, I can beat you. Or do you not remember every other time we've played this game?"

Grant's jaw tightens and Skye just smirks.

"Since we're getting pretty close to this game being over, I'm going to save you the agony of taking your turn and getting another miss, by saying, A3."

Grant's jaw tightens even more as he stares down at his game board.

"Say it, babe," she leans forward slightly. "Say it."

"You sunk my battleship," he gets out through gritted teeth.

"Yes!" Skye laughs, pumping her first in the air. "Victory is mine once again." She dances in her chair, a wide smile on her face.

"Cut it out," Grant snaps.

"Aww," Skye stops dancing and looks at Grant. "Someone's even more of a sore loser than usual."

"I'm not a sore loser," he tells her. "You're just unnaturally good at this."

"You say that every time we play this game, sweetie," she smiles sweetly at him. She stands up from her chair and walks over to him, "Which makes you a sore loser."

"I'm not a sore loser," he insists.

"Yes you are," she leans down and pats his cheek with her hand.

When she goes to pull away, he reaches out and grabs her wrist in his hand, holding it tightly but not enough to hurt her.

She just smirks at him before he reaches his other hand up to grab the back of her head and pull her into a searing kiss.

Skye moans into the kiss, moving herself so she is straddling his lap.

"Okay," Bobbi speaks up from the other side of the glass to the cadets. "We should probably get going now."

"Why?" Michael asks. "They're just going to make out for a minute and then play another game, right? You said we were coming here to watch them play."

"Oh the minds of the young and innocent," Hunter says.

"What do you mean?" Michael asks.

"Remember how I said there was a mini earthquake in one of the rooms?" Bobbi looks at both of them. "Well, I'm pretty sure that room is about to experience one as well. Thank goodness for shatterproof glass."

"Wait," Michael says. "You mean the earthquake happened because they…"

Bobbi nods her head, "Yep. It's harder for Skye to control her abilities when they're intimate. And by the looks of things, that is going to be happening very soon."

They all turn their heads back towards the glass to see both Skye and Grant with their shirts off. Skye's pants are gone and she's sitting up on the table, the Battleship boards and pieces lying scattered on the floor. The two have their lips locked and their bodies pressed together.

"Alright," Hunter speaks, "time to go. We do not want to see any of this. Trust me."

They all quickly make their way out of the observation room, shutting the door and locking it behind them.

As they walk away from the observation room, they feel a small tremor start beneath their feet.

"Here comes the earthquake," Hunter says aloud as a few of the walls near them start to shake as well. Everyone in the hallway stops moving, standing still as they ride out the tremor. After a few minutes of the room shaking, things settle back down and everyone goes about their business again.

"And this happens every time they play Battleship?" Hannah asks.

"More or less," Bobbi shrugs. "Sometimes their games are pretty harmless and don't cause the building to shake."

"And then there are the times when they go at it like animals and make you think the entire building is going to collapse," Hunter states.

"Wow. That's pretty intense," Hannah says.

"Yes it is," Bobbi replies as they continue their way through the building.

* * *

"How far do you think that one went?" Grant asks Skye as they slip their clothes back on.

"I don't know for sure, but I'm going to say at least to the hallway outside."

"You think so?" Grant asks.

"I know so," she replies with a smile. "I can feel how and where my tremors travel, remember?"

"Of course I remember," he smiles back. "Now, how do you feel about another game?" He asks with a small smirk.

"Hmm, I don't know. Are you going to be a sore loser again?"

He smirks, "I guess we'll have to play the game and find out."


	2. Academy Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically, Skye and Ward at the Academy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Glad you all loved the first installment. Here's the next one for ya. This prompt was: SHIELD Academy. Academy Days is the best title I could come up with.
> 
> Also, before anyone says anything to me about how this isn't what SHIELD Academy is really like, based off of what we know from the show and stuff, this is an AU. And it's kind of my interpretation of the Academy. So deal with it. :)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

"Is this seat taken?"

Skye looks up from her phone to see a raven haired girl gesturing to the seat next to her. "Go ahead," Skye smiles at her.

"Thanks," the girl smiles back, sitting in the chair. "I'm Kara, by the way. Kara Palamas."

"Skye. No last name."

Kara furrows her brows.

"Orphan," Skye explains.

"Oh, wow. I'm sorry."

Skye waves her off, "Don't be. It's all I've ever known."

"Oh, okay. So how did SHIELD recruit you?"

"I hacked them a couple of times and they figured out who I was. Told me if I joined the Academy I'd learn to 'expand my skills and hone them for good'. Or something along those lines," she lets out a small laugh.

Kara laughs quietly as well. "So you're in Communications Academy, then?" Kara asks her.

"Yep. What about you?"

"Operations."

"Isn't that the one where the most kids wash out of?"

Kara shrugs, "I guess so. But I'm hoping to not be one of those kids."

"Yeah. How did SHIELD recruit you?"

"I took a lot of martial arts classes growing up, as well as a few language classes that came pretty easy to me. While I was in my senior year of high school, some agents came and told me that SHIELD thinks I have potential."

"Seems like SHIELD thinks we both might have something to offer."

"Yes it does," Kara smiles.

"Oh, hello," a female voice speaks up.

Kara and Skye both turn to see a girl about their age with light brown, wavy hair standing in front of them.

"Hey," Skye smiles kindly at her.

"Hi," the girl smiles back nervously. "May I sit there?" She points to the empty seat on the other side of Skye.

"Sure," Skye smiles.

The girl smiles as she sits down, turning to face Skye and Kara. "I'm Jemma Simmons," she says.

"Kara Palamas. That's Skye."

"No last name?" Jemma inquires of Skye.

Skye shakes her head, "Orphan."

"Oh, well. It's very nice to meet the both of you."

"You too," Skye smiles. "Which academy are you in?"

"Sci-Tech," Jemma responds.

"Ooh, nice," Kara says. "You must be pretty smart to be going there."

"I don't like to brag," Jemma tells them. "But I do already have one PhD, which is required to even be admitted into the school."

"You're such a nerd," Skye says.

"What?" Jemma's eyes widen.

"Oh, no no no," Skye rushes, seeing the look on Jemma's face. "I didn't mean it in any cruel way. Just in a jokey way, cause you're so young, but obviously really smart. That's all, honestly."

"Right, I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Skye apologizes. "I forget that people here aren't used to me. I like to think of myself as an acquired taste. I take some getting used to," she smiles and leans back in her chair.

Jemma smiles and laughs quietly, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Oh, I meant to ask, which academy are the two of you attending?"

"I'm at Operations," Kara tells her.

"Communications," Skye adds.

"That's nice, one from each academy," Jemma smiles.

"Yeah," Kara smiles. "And hey, even though the three of us are going to be in different academies, we can still be friends."

"Of course," Skye smiles. "My first two official friends at the academy, I feel like I'm off to a great start already."

"Same here," Jemma smiles back.

"Alright cadets, listen up please."

Skye, Kara, and Jemma all turn to face the front of the biggest lecture hall, ready to listen to the introduction to the Academy.

* * *

"Hey there, hot stuff," Kara says as she approaches Skye.

Skye looks up from her laptop at Kara, "Hey sexy. What's up?"

"Not much. Just got done with some training. It was brutal."

Skye nods her head, "Mm-hmm. I can tell by the workout clothes, the messy hair, and then many beads of sweat on your brow."

Kara smiles, "Yes, it's very hard work. But I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end once I'm granted agent status. Then I'll get to go out and start kicking some bad guy butt."

Skye chuckles, "Slow your roll. We're still only in our first year. We've got three more to go."

"I know," she leans back into the bench and lifts her water bottle to her lips. She swallows, "So, what are you working on?"

"Just some stuff for one of my classes. Well, actually, I finished the stuff for class about twenty minutes ago. Now I'm just kind of browsing." She shuts the lid of her laptop and turns to face Kara, "What are you up to?"

"I can't just come and visit my best friend whenever I want to?"

"I suppose you can," Skye smiles. "Oh, I meant to tell you earlier, we're meeting Jemma at the Boiler Room on Friday."

"Cool. Maybe some of the other guys in Ops who are there will want to spar with me."

"Maybe," Skye replies. "Speaking of guys, major hottie spotted just ahead."

Kara looks to where Skye is staring to see a tall man wearing a suit walking across the grass. "Oh, yeah, Cadet Ward."

Skye whips her head towards Kara, "Wait, you know him?"

"Kind of. He's in his third year at Operations. I've seen him around a few times. Sometimes he helps out in one of my classes."

"He looks like he can handle himself very well," Skye smiles.

"Yeah, he's pretty good at hand-to-hand. I overheard one of the instructors say they think he might be as good as Romanoff."

"Seriously?" Skye raises an eyebrow. "Wow, that's pretty impressive."

"Yeah, he's one of the top cadets in his class."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out. So he's a third year Operations cadet?"

Kara nods her head, "Mm-hmm."

"Kara, I think I'm going to be hanging out around the Operations campus a whole lot more."

* * *

"Damn it!" Skye shouts as she trips over her own feet, dropping her laptop into the grass.

"Are you alright?"

Looking up, Skye sees Ward standing in front of her, his brows furrowed.

She brushes some of her hair out of her face, "Um, yeah. I'm good. Just glad I tripped in the grass instead of the pavement?"

"Why's that?" He asks.

"Laptop," she tells him, picking up her computer and holding it in her arms. She stands up and looks at him, "Laptop plus pavement is not necessarily a good thing."

"I would imagine not," Ward replies.

"So a friend of mine told me you're like the next Romanoff. That true?"

Ward shrugs, "Possibly. However, I don't consider myself qualified enough to measure my own skills as a cadet against those of a Level 8 Agent."

"Wow, that sounded kind of rehearsed. Do they teach all you Operations cadets to say that? Was that programmed in? Are you a robot?"

Ward furrows his brows, "I don't—I'm not a robot."

"That's exactly what a robot would say," Skye says conspiratorially.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, Rookie?"

"Rookie?" she raises an eyebrow.

He nods his head, "Yes. Rookie. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some place I need to be."

"Yeah, sure. I see my friends anyways. Catch ya later, Robot," she calls over her shoulder as she walks away from him.

"Who were you just talking to?" Jemma asks Skye when she reaches her and Kara.

"Cadet Ward," Skye smiles. "He's even cuter up close."

"Oh really," Kara says.

Skye nods her head, "Mm-hmm."

* * *

"Palamas."

Looking up, Kara sees Ward making his way toward her. "Ward," she replies with a curt nod of her head.

He stops in front of her, "Cadet Skye. What do you know about her?"

"Why are you asking?"

"I'm curious," he replies. "She's around Operations campus quite a bit even though she attends Communications."

"We're really good friends," Kara tells her. "That's why she's around a lot."

"Even when you're not around?"

Kara shrugs, "Sometimes she gets done with her stuff early and likes to wait for me so we can hang out and stuff."

"Well can you tell her to leave me alone?"

"What?"

"She's always standing outside the building whenever I get done with training. And she's always making some sort of joke about me being a robot. And I'd really appreciate it if she'd top."

"Then why don't you tell her yourself?"

"I don't know if you've noticed or not, but my people skills aren't the greatest."

"You seem to be doing just fine right now."

"Yes, well, it's a rare sight. Could you just ask your friend to leave me alone?"

"I can try," Kara tells him. "But I don't know how good it'll do."

"Thank you," he says. "I'll see you in training."

"Yeah," Kara nods her head, watching as Ward walks away back towards the Operations building.

"Hey there."

"Hey," Kara looks up to see Skye walking towards her. "What's up?"

Skye shrugs, "Not much. My classes are getting really boring. I already know how to do most of the stuff they're teaching."

"But we're only in our first year," Kara points out. "You've still got three more years of stuff to learn."

"Yeah, I know there's still three more years. But I mean, come on, I've already cracked SHIELD's firewalls twice. What else can they really teach me?"

Kara smiles, "Yes, I know. You've only brought it up about ten times."

Skye shrugs.

Kara laughs quietly. "Alright, well, I have something to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"Ward came over here just before you did, to talk to me about you."

"Intrigue peeked," Skye smiles as she sits up straighter. "What did he say?"

"Basically, he wants you to stop waiting outside the Ops building for him."

Skye throws her head back and lets out a laugh. When she brings her head back down, she smiles at Kara, "Oh man. This is great. Now I'm definitely going to keep waiting outside for him whenever I can. Just to push his buttons. See if I can make a robot explode."

Kara sighs and rolls her eyes, "He didn't say anything, but I'm pretty sure he could do without the robot jokes."

"If he wasn't so robotic all the time, I wouldn't make the jokes. Plus, he calls me Rookie whenever he sees me, what's that all about?"

"A rookie is basically a newbie."

"Then why doesn't he just say newbie?"

Kara shrugs, "I don't know. Rookie's a pretty common phrase. They don't use it at Communications?"

Skye shakes her head, "Not really."

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah. Now come on," Skye stands up and looks down at Kara. "Jemma's been holed up in the labs all day and probably needs some girl time."

"Yeah, alright," Kara stands up as well. "But just so I understand, you aren't going to leave Ward alone?"

Skye smiles and shakes her head, "Nope."

* * *

"Woo hoo!" Skye exclaims as she steps out the front doors of the Communications Academy building, her bag hanging off her shoulder. "Summer vacay!"

"Do you always have to be this excited about everything?" One of her fellow Communications cadets asks her as he steps past her through the doors.

"Come on, Johnny," she says to the man, "you can't honestly say that you're not excited for summer vacation."

"It's only for a few weeks," he reminds Skye. "Then we have to be back learning more things."

"I know that," she says back. "But it's summer vacation! Literally the greatest thing on the planet."

"Yeah, okay," Johnny says slowly. "I'll see you when classes start back up," he gives her a small wave as he makes his way towards the parking lot towards his car.

Smiling to herself, Skye makes her way across the lawn towards the Operations building, hiking her bag further up onto her shoulder as she walks.

Once she reaches the front of the building, she leans up against a tree nearby, waiting for Kara to walk out the doors. She pulls her phone out and scours through the internet, looking at random things.

"What are you doing here?"

Skye looks up to see Ward standing in front of her, a backpack hiked up on his shoulder.

"Hey Robot," she smiles at him.

He sighs, "I see the nickname hasn't stopped."

"Not in a million years," Skye smirks. "And as for why I'm here, I'm waiting for Kara. We're heading down to the beach for the summer."

"You mean the three weeks the Academy gives us to ourselves before classes start back up again?"

Skye nods her head, "Yep. Kara, Jemma, and I are heading down to the beach to hang out. I'd invite you to come with us, but if you got in the water, you'd probably fry all your wiring."

He sighs again, "Alright, well, I have to go now."

"Hey Ward," Kara greets him as she walks up to where he and Skye are standing.

"Palamas," Ward nods his head once at her in greeting.

Kara looks at Skye, "You ready to get Jemma and head to the beach?"

Skye nods her head, "Of course. These three weeks are going to be the best ever."

"I am so ready for the beach," Kara smiles.

"Which beach are you guys heading to?" Ward asks them.

"It's not too far from here actually," Kara tells him. "Closest beach to us."

"Cool, well, have fun with that."

"Oh we will," Skye smiles. "What will you be doing during the three weeks off?"

Ward shrugs, "Probably just some camping in the woods nearby."

"Seriously?" Skye raises an eyebrow. "Wow, okay." She looks over at Kara, "You ready to go get Jemma?"

"Yeah. Bye Ward," Kara waves to him as he and Skye begin walking away.

"Bye Robot," Skye calls over her shoulder.

Ward lets the tiniest hint of a smile grace his lips as he shakes his head and walks away towards the parking lot.

* * *

"I can't believe we only have a week left of vacation before we have to go back," Skye says to Kara and Jemma as the three friends lie together on the beach, tanning.

"I know," Kara sighs. "As much as I'm excited to go back and learn more things, I really, really love the summertime."

"Me too," Skye replies.

"I don't know," Jemma speaks up. "I haven't really been one to find the appeal to spending all my time outdoors in the sunlight. I much prefer to be inside, doing science."

"Of course you would," Skye says teasingly, "you're a total nerd. Those of us cool kids who actually like to enjoy life, are glad to be outside soaking up the sun."

"Am I a cool kid?"

Looking up behind her, Skye sees Ward standing barefoot in the sand, his backpack hanging off of one shoulder.

"Cadet Ward," Skye smiles, "what are you doing here?"

He shrugs, "I figured two weeks alone in the woods was enough time. So I decided to come and see how cool the beach was."

"Have you ever been to the beach before?" Skye asks him.

He shakes his head, "My family was never really the beach going type."

"At least you had a family," Skye mutters.

"What?"

"I'm an orphan," Skye tells him. "No family."

"Oh, well. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she says back. "I've long since moved past it."

"Alright," he nods his head. He moves forward and sits down in the sand, setting his backpack down beside him. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"Just sit back and relax," Kara tells him.

"I think I can do that."

* * *

"Hey, what are you still doing out here? It's getting late."

Skye looks up from where she sits on the beach to find Ward looking down at her.

"I know," she smiles. "But I like to sit and watch the stars sometimes. It's peaceful."

"Mind if I sit with you?" he asks.

"If you want to," she shrugs.

Silently, Ward steps forward and sits down next to Skye, pulling his knees up and resting his arms on them. "So," he speaks up after a few minutes of silence, "how do you like the Academy?"

Skye shrugs, "It's good. I'm only in Communications, so it's not too difficult. It also helps that everything is pretty easy, considering I already know how to do most of it."

"So I take it you're pretty good with computers?"

Skye nods her head, "I like to think so. I mean, I did break past SHIELD's firewalls twice while living in a van in LA."

"You did?" he raises an eyebrow.

She nods her head, "Yep. That's kind of what got me onto their radar and why they recruited me. Something about wanting to teach me how to hone my skills."

"And are you? Honing your skills?"

Skye shrugs, "I might be."

"That's good. Maybe you'll learn how to use your skills to help people."

"Maybe I will," Skye smiles. "You're in your third year, right?"

He nods his head, "I am. I'll be in my fourth year once we get back to the Academy."

"And how do you like being at the top of your class?"

"Who told you I'm at the top of my class?"

"Kara. She's at Operations as well and she told me that you're one of the best."

"Well I appreciate the compliment. But I don't know if I'm one of the best. I'm just trying to pass and get my badge."

"Same here," Skye tells him. "But I'm also kind of worried."

"Worried about what?"

"That when the day finally comes for me to get my badge and become an official agent, they'll look at me and say, 'Sorry for the misunderstanding. You're actually not cut out to be an agent. Go back to living on the street in your van. You're not good enough.'"

"Why would you think they'd do that?" He asks her.

"Because that's what everyone I could ever care about has basically said to me."

"I know what that's like."

"You do?" She tilts her head.

He nods his head, "Unfortunately, yeah. My family was never really one to tell me they loved me or that I mattered. My older brother also beat me up a lot. Me and my little brother. He'd beat us up for the stupidest things." He looks out at the ocean, "So I started learning how to protect myself and my little brother. My parents sent me to military school for a little while and I guess while I was there I got onto SHIELD's radar and they asked me if I wanted the chance to really do some good in the world. They told me I could be a great agent. I didn't hesitate in saying yes because it was an opportunity to get out of my home life. And anything is better than that." He looks back at Skye, "I guess that's why I do so well at the Academy; I want them to tell me I matter and that I really am doing well."

"I'm sorry about your family," she tells him. "That shouldn't be the kind of family anyone has."

"No it isn't," he replies. "When I got here, you said you're an orphan. Did your family never come back for you?"

She shakes her head, "Nope. They never did." She looks down at the sand, "They left me on the doorstep of an orphanage when I just a baby. Then I was bounced around a lot from foster home to foster home. I never stayed in one place for more than a few months." She looks out to the ocean, "The families never really told me why they'd send me back, but I knew it was my fault. I knew I'd never be a good fit anywhere." She looks back at the sand, "So I ran away from the orphanage when I was sixteen, started living alone in a van, and learned how to hack into things. Got really good really fast." She looks back at Ward, "That's how SHIELD found me; I hacked into their system a couple of times. And instead of throwing me in jail or something, they asked me if I wanted to learn how to use my skills to help others. They said I had potential. It took me a little while to actually say yes, because no one had ever said anything like that to me before. But I did, and now I love it at the Academy."

"Then I guess SHIELD saved the both of us in a way."

She smiles, "Yeah, I guess it did." There's a pause before she speaks up again, "I've never told anyone any of that before. About my life before the Academy. Not even Jemma and Kara know about that, and they're my best friends. It's just not something I like talking about."

"I get it," he replies. "I've never told anyone about my family either. Brings up some memories that I'd rather would stay buried."

"I know how that is," she tells him. "I've had my fair share of bad foster homes. Ones that I'd much rather forget about. But hey, even with your horrible excuse for a family, you turned out pretty well."

"Yeah. And so did you."

Skye smiles softly as she looks into Ward's eyes, tucking a piece of stray hair behind her ear. Without thinking, she leans up and softly presses her lips to his. After a split second, she pulls away, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't—I guess I just got caught up in the moment. Your model probably isn't equipped with that kind of programming."

"Well maybe my programming should be updated," he smiles.

A smile slowly grows on her face, "Did you just make a robot joke about yourself?"

He nods his head slowly, "I think I did."

"Does this mean I'm rubbing off on you somehow?" she asks.

He nods his head again, "It's possible." He reaches out and gently cradles the back of her head in his hand, leaning closer to her. He hesitates for a moment before letting the roughness of his own lips gently lock onto the softness of hers.

Skye doesn't hesitate in kissing him back, bringing her hand up to grip the arm cradling her head. She moves from her spot, swinging one leg over him so she's straddling his lap. Ward swipes his tongue across Skye's lips, asking for entrance. Skye parts her lips, letting hers and Ward's tongues battles for dominance. She moves her other hand to the back of his head, massaging his scalp.

Realizing their need to breath, Ward and Skye break apart, letting their foreheads lean against one another.

"Wow," Skye breathes out. "Who knew a robot could kiss like that?"

Ward chuckles, an unfamiliar sound to Skye, and then speaks, "Skye, would you like to go out with me sometime?"

"I would love to," she replies. "But we have to leave for the Academy tomorrow. And we hardly get time off when we're there."

"Then we'll find time," he tells her.

She smiles and leans back, wrapping her arms around his neck to hold herself up. He lets his hands fall to her waist.

"What happened to you? What's with the sudden change in heart?" She asks him. "Not that I mind, I'm just curious. The first time we met, I thought you were just a robot without a heart."

He smiles, "A very persistent Rookie happened."

She smiles, "Glad I could help."

"Me too."

* * *

"I can't believe this day is finally here," Skye says to Kara and Jemma as the three best friends make their way through the Hub.

"It's exciting, isn't it?" Jemma speaks up. "I can't wait to start applying the things we've learned in the classroom. Of course, Skye and I will most likely remain on a base somewhere while Kara will go out into the field, but it's all still exciting."

"Yes it is," Kara smiles. "And Skye, if I ever need someone to run back end for me on a mission, you'll be the first one I call."

Skye smiles at her friend, "Thanks, Kara."

"Anytime. That's what friends are for."

"I'm just so excited to finally become an official SHIELD agent," Skye beams. "I've been looking forward to this since day one at the Academy."

"I thought you were bored with classes the first year?" Jemma speaks up.

"Well yeah. But they got more fun and interesting as the years went by."

"As most things usually do," Kara says.

"Yeah, I just really wish Grant could be here. I know there isn't like a huge ceremony or anything, we're just going into a room to fill out paperwork and then get our badges, but this is a big day, I wanted him to be here."

"Is he still off on a mission?" Kara asks.

Skye nods her head, "Yeah. He told me he might not make it back in time, but he also said congratulations, so I guess there's that."

"That's alright, Skye," Jemma tries to comfort her friend. "At least he said congratulations. And I'm sure he'll want to take you out to celebrate as soon as he gets back, no matter when that is."

"Yeah," Skye nods her head, "you're right." She looks at both of her friends and smiles, "Now come on, let's go get those badges."

* * *

"This is so surreal," Skye says as the three friends exit the large conference room, their newly assigned SHIELD badges clasped in their hands.

"I know," Kara smiles. "This is amazing. We actually did it, we're real agents now."

"Those four years of hard work and determination really paid off."

"Yes they did," Jemma smiles. "And now we get to actually do things for SHIELD. Fitz and I are both looking forward to visiting all the SHIELD labs we can and hopefully get some new ideas for equipment pieces."

"Sounds exciting," Kara smiles. "I'm ready to get out into the field. I can't wait to apply what I learned and catch some bad guys while saving people."

"That sounds pleasant," Jemma tells her. "What about you, Skye? What are you most excited about being able to do now?"

"Get me hands on SHIELD's security. See what I can do about fixing the holes they have."

"I thought you already did that," Kara says, "when they first recruited you. Didn't they have you fix the holes?"

"Only the ones I found while breaking in. But there's bound to be more, they're security isn't the greatest. So I'm pretty excited about all that."

"Funny. I thought you'd be excited to see me."

Stopping in her path and her eyes going wide, Skye spins around to face the entrance of the building. A large grin spreads across her face when she sees her boyfriend standing a few feet away. He's still wearing his tac gear and has some dirt smudged across his face.

"Grant," she whispers and then runs at full speed across the lobby of the Hub.

Smiling when he sees her running towards him, Grant holds his arms open to her, catching her when she jumps up. He wraps his arms tightly around her waist, holding her close. Skye wraps her arms his neck and her legs around his waist, burying her face into his neck.

"You're here," she says against his skin.

"I know," he says back. "The mission didn't take as long as I thought it was going to."

She lifts her head up and smiles down at him. She places one of her hands on his cheek, rubbing her thumb across the dirt on it, "You're covered in dirt."

"Things got kind of crazy," he tells her.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out." She leans down and presses her lips against his, smiling into the kiss. "I'm so glad you're here," she says against his lips. Unwrapping her legs from around his waist, she slides down just enough so her feet are touching the floor again.

"So am I," he smiles. "Did you already get your badge?"

She nods her head, "Yeah. Jem, Kara, and I just got done with all the paperwork."

"I missed it?" he frowns.

"Yeah. But I have my badge right here," she pulls her badge out and holds it up right in front of her face so he can see it.

"Look at that," he smiles, reaching up to grab the SHIELD badge. "You're now officially a SHIELD agent."

"Are you proud of me?" she asks him.

"That's not even a question," he tells her softly. "Of course I'm proud of you. I love you."

"I love you too," she smiles at him. "And hey, guess what?"

"What?"

"Now we're both SHIELD agents."

He smiles, "Yes we are. Are you ready to use everything the Academy taught you to help save people?"

She nods her head and smiles, "Most definitely."

"Good. But first, I say we go out and celebrate this fine achievement you've reached."

"Really?" she grins.

He nods his head, "Really. How does a nice dinner and a movie sound?"

"Sounds perfect," she leans forward, tilting her chin up and rising slightly on her toes so she can press a quick kiss to his lips. She leans back, "But first, you need to get cleaned up. You're all dirty, and you kind of smell, too."

He chuckles, "Alright. We'll go home so I can change, then we'll go out."

"Awesome," she smiles.

"Do you have all your things?"

She nods her head, "Yeah, everything's in my car."

"Great. We'll take your car then because mine is not here since I used one SHIELD's."

"Cool. Can I have my badge back now?"

"Yes you can," he holds it up to her. She takes it from him and slips it into her back pocket. "Shall we go now?"

"Yes please." She reaches down and grabs his hand in hers, linking their fingers together.

As they start to make their way towards the front doors of the Hub, Grant looks over his shoulder and waves to Kara and Jemma, "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Kara smiles and waves at him. "You two have fun."

"We will," Skye smirks at her friend and waggles her eyebrows.

Grant and Skye never made it back out of their apartment and to dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below.
> 
> I love the idea of Jemma, Skye, and Kara being best buds during their Academy days. It makes me smile.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	3. Start Anew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye have a serious conversation down in Vault D.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Here's the newest one for ya. The prompt for this one is: Vault D. A little bit of Canon Divergence on this one. The finale did happen, but Ward and Kara didn't capture Bobbi and torture her and stuff. It doesn't really affect the story a whole lot, I just don't like it. So it didn't happen in this world. :)
> 
> Enjoy. :)

Some might think it's weird that it became the place where their relationship really started. But neither of them though much of it. It just kind of happened.

* * *

When she went down there alone it was after he came back. She didn't tell him or anyone else that she was going down there. She doesn't exactly know what drew her there, but something did.

She gripped the tablet tightly in her hands, stepped across the yellow line, and then brought up the barrier. Then she moved backwards and sat down on the bed. She just looked around silently, taking notice of the complete lack of anything in the small area, except for the single bed she sat on.

She doesn't know how long she sat there before she heard the door open. She looked up to see a tall figure walking down the stairs. When the figure reached the bottom, she gave him a half smile.

"Hey," she said to him.

"Hey," he said back, stepping forward towards the metal chair bolted to the floor. "What are you doing in there?" He kept moving forward, only to be stopped by the barrier. He furrowed his brows, "And why is the barrier up?"

She looked down, "I uh, I wanted to know what it felt like."

"What what felt like?" he asked her.

"What it felt like to be locked in here with absolutely nothing except for a bed."

"And what have you come up with?"

"It's not the greatest feeling. If I didn't have the tablet in here allowing me to take the barrier down at any time, I'd probably go crazy." She looked down at the tablet and brought the barrier down. Then she looked back at him, "How did you manage it? How did you manage to not go insane?"

He shrugged and moved towards the bed, "I spent fifteen years of my life alone in the woods with only a dog to keep me company." He sat down next to her, "Being in this cage for a few months was nothing compared to that. I mean, sure it was a little aggravating, being in here and not being able to do anything about it, but I'm a specialist. I'm trained to go through things like this. And knowing that all of you were up there, it kind of made it worse. I wasn't happy about being down here, but I got through it."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that," she told him.

"I'm not," he said back.

"You aren't?"

He shook his head, "No, not really. Because as much as I've come to realize he didn't really care about me, if it wasn't for Garrett pulling me out of juvie and eventually sending me to SHIELD, I'd most likely not be here right now. I'd probably still be in prison or doing something else."

"So you're glad you went through what you did?"

"Not glad necessarily, but I realize that everything that's ever happened to me has led me to this moment right here. Sitting in this vault talking to you right now. Because even if I didn't realize it early enough, or take it for granted, you're one of the best things that's ever happened to me, Skye."

"You really mean that?" She asked him, tears shining in the brims of her eyes.

He nodded his head, "I really do." He reached out and placed his hand on top of hers, "You mean a lot to me, Skye. And I really care about you. A lot more than I ever thought I'd care for anyone. So I'm really glad to be back here, even if you have been avoiding me ever since I came back."

Skye looked down, "I was really hoping you wouldn't bring that up."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess because things have just been kind of awkward between us since you've been back."

"I know," he reached out and placed his hand on top of hers. "But it doesn't have to be awkward between us. You know how I feel about you Skye, none of that has changed. I'm not going to force myself or my feelings on you, I'd never do that. But I want to tell you so you know. I hope that won't make things even more awkward, because that's not what I want. But what I want, is to pick up whatever kind of relationship we had. I know something was starting between us before everything happened, and someday, I'd like to see what that something could be. If that's okay with you, of course."

She placed her hand on top of his, giving it a squeeze, "It's definitely okay with you." She gave him a smile.

He smiled back.

Her smile dropped and she moved her hand, pointing a finger at him, "But if you hurt me again, I swear it'll be much worse than last time."

"I don't doubt that for a second," he gave her a small smile.

She gave him a small smile back, "Good. But I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Where do we start?"

"What do you mean?" He furrowed his brows.

"Well, we can't just pick up where we left off."

"I know," he nodded his head. Things were quiet between them as they both though. Then he sat up straighter and turned slightly to face her. He held his hand out to her, "Hi, I'm Grant Ward."

She furrowed her brow in confusion for a moment before she smile. She grabbed his hand in hers and shook it, "Hi, I'm Skye Johnson."

He smiled back at her, "Nice to meet you, Skye."

"Nice to meet you too, Grant."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know your thoughts in a review down below.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	4. It Only Takes One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four bullets rang out. It only took one to change their lives forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Here's the next one for ya. The prompt for this one was: four bullets. So here's my take on it. It's an AU, I guess.
> 
> Enjoy!

Four bullets rang out. It only took one to change their lives forever.

* * *

It was supposed to be a normal day. They were going to make a bank run and then go to the grocery store. What they didn't expect was for someone to hold up the bank. At the exact time they were there.

* * *

"Everyone down on the ground. Now!"

They both drop to the floor, hands tightly clasped together.

"Grant, I'm scared," she whispers to him as they lie on the floor.

"I know you are, Skye," he whispers back to his wife. "I am too. But we're going to get through this, I promise. As soon as these guys get what they want, they'll leave. And then we'll be okay."

"You don't know that."

"I may not. But we have to at least have a little bit of hope that we'll get through this and then—"

"Hey! Quit talking!"

"Sorry," he says to the thief standing in front of him. "I'm just assuring my wife that we'll be okay."

"You're husband's right, little lady," the man says to her. "You'll be okay. As long as you stay down and shut up."

Grant nods his head once, "Yeah. Okay. Shutting up now."

"Good," the thief says and then turns to continue walking around the floor, keeping an eye on the other hostages.

Once the thief walks away, Grant reaches up and wraps his arm around Skye's waist, pulling her closer to him. He presses his lips to her temple. "We're going to be fine," he whispers into her ear, "we're going to be fine."

* * *

And they were fine. For a little while. While the thieves were robbing the bank, they were fine. Lying together on the cold laminate floor, breathing heavily out of fear and nervousness. And then the cops showed up.

* * *

"Yo!" The thief in the lobby calls out to his other two colleagues. "Cops are here, we need to go. Now."

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming," one of the other thieves calls back as he and the last thief make their way out of the bank vault.

"How are we getting past the cops?" The third thief asks.

The first thief looks around the room before his eyes land on Skye. He stalks over to her and points a finger at her, "You, get up."

"No," Grant speaks up without hesitating. "Take me instead."

"Shut up," the man shouts, striking Grant across the face with the butt of his gun.

Skye gasps and then looks up at the intimidating man, "Wait! Please don't hurt him again. I'm getting up," she slowly stands up from the floor, her hands raised in the air. "Just please don't hurt him again."

The man reaches out and grips Skye tightly around the upper arm, dragging her back towards his friends. "She should get us out of here without getting shot at. Cops don't want to risk a civilian getting hurt in a shootout."

"Can we go then?" the third thief asks.

"Yeah man," the second thief says. "Let's get going."

"You heard my friend," the first thief says to Skye, "let's get going." He roughly shoves her forwards towards the glass doors of the bank. He holds his gun up in his other hand as he kicks the front door open, walking out and towards the police, his companions following closely behind him.

"Release the woman," one of the cops' shouts, aiming his gun towards the thieves.

"Not yet," the thief says. "We need a clean break out of here, and this lady is going to get that for us. So what's going to happen, is you're gonna let my friends go, then you're gonna let me go. Then you'll get all of your precious hostages, including this one," he gestures to Skye with his gun.

There are a few moments of silence while all the cops look at one another. Then the first cop turns back to the thief, "Okay. Just don't hurt any of the hostages."

"Don't worry," the thief replies, "all we wanted was the money." He looks back towards his friends, "Get to the van." The two thieves quickly make their way down the sidewalk and towards the alleyway where their van is parked.

Once his friends are out of sight, the remaining thief looks back at the cops, "Alright. Now then, that'll be my cue to leave." He shoves Skye forward and turns to make his way down the sidewalk. As he walks, a bullet whizzes past his face, causing him to stop and turn. "Well that wasn't very nice," he says to the cops. "And for that, I'm gonna have to do this," he lifts up his own gun, firing three rounds in the cops direction as he runs off.

Everyone ducks down, trying to get out of the way of the bullets.

"You four," the cop near the front of the group points at a small group of cops, "go after them. You," he points to the man next to him, "go and get the hostages." He turns to face everyone else, "Who the hell shot at him?"

"I'm sorry," one of the rookie cops apologizes after a quick moment of silence. "I didn't mean to. I just, I don't know."

"Well you're lucky no one got hurt," the officer says harshly.

"Skye?" Grant calls out as he and the rest of the hostages rush out of the bank. "Where's my wife?"

"Sir," one of the cops says to Grant, "what's going on?"

"My wife," Grant breaths heavily. "She's the one the thief brought out here. Where is she?"

"Last I saw her she was running towards the back when we got shot at."

"Skye!" Grant calls out as he walks through the cop cars.

"Hey, I need some help over here," another cop calls out.

Grant and the cop next to him rush over to where the other cop is.

"Davis," the cop with Grant yells. "What's going on?"

"Serg," Davis replies, "it's one of the hostages. She's conscious, but not moving."

"Oh my—Skye!" Grant shouts when he sees his wife lying on the concrete.

"Grant!" Skye looks at him. "I can't feel my legs."

Grant drops down to his knees next to Skye. "Skye, honey," he grabs one of her hands in his, smoothing back some of her hair with his other hand. He leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead. "You're okay; you're going to be okay."

"An ambulance is on its way," the Sergeant says.

"You hear that, sweetheart?" Grant says to Skye. "An ambulance is coming for you. You're going to be okay."

* * *

"Family of Skye Ward?"

"That's me," Grant stands up from his waiting room chair. "I'm her husband. How is she? Is she okay?"

The doctor moves towards Grant, "She's alive."

"Oh thank goodness," Grant breathes a sigh of relief, dropping his head.

"However…"

Grant's head pops up, "What? What's wrong?"

"There was a situation of sorts. It seems as though one of the bullets that was fired lodged itself in the bottom of her spinal cord."

"Oh my gosh," Grant whispers. "What um, what happened?"

"She's been paralyzed from the waist down."

Grant tilts his head back, trying to keep his tears at bay. He looks back at the doctor, "Can I go back and see her?"

"Of course you can," he nods his head. "She underwent pretty heavy surgery to remove the bullet, so she might still be asleep from the anesthesia. But you're welcome to sit in her room and wait for her to wake up. Hopefully it'll be soon."

"Yeah, hopefully."

* * *

Making his way down the hallway of the hospital, Grant stops just outside the door indicated to him by the doctor. He stands in the doorway of the room, looking through to the other side. He sees his wife lying motionless in the bed, the pristine white blanket pulled up to just underneath of her arms.

Stepping inside, he walks up to the bed and stands next to it, staring down at his wife. He reaches out and clasps one of her hands in his, moving to sit down in the chair behind him. He doesn't know how long he sits there before he hears soft noises. Looking up, he sees Skye's head slowly moving as she starts to stir.

"Skye," he says softly to her, leaning forward in his chair. "Come on, honey, wake up."

"Mm," Skye mumbles as her eyes start to open. Her head lolls to the side and her eyes open. "Grant?"

Grant smiles out of relief, "Yeah. Yeah, honey, it's me. I'm right here. I told you we'd make it out of there and be okay."

"Where am I?" she asks, turning her head to look around the room.

"You're in the hospital."

"Wha—why?"

"Do you remember anything that happened earlier? While we were at the bank?"

"Um, I remember the bank getting held up. And one of the thieves used me to escape. Then I remember hearing four gunshots. The rest is kind of a blur."

Grant sighs and looks down. Then he looks back up at Skye, "One of the cops shot at the thief as he ran towards his van. So he turned around and fired three shots at the cops. One of the bullets hit you."

"What?"

"It lodged itself in the lower part of your spinal cord."

Skye doesn't say anything.

"Skye, can you try and move your toes?"

Skye furrows her brows and then looks down to her feet. After a few seconds, she looks back at Grant in a panic, "Grant, I can't move my toes. I can't even feel them."

"I know," he nods his head once. "You've uh, you've been paralyzed. From the waist down."

"I'm paralyzed?" She whispers as the tears start to build in her eyes. "What? Why?"

"I don't know why," he says honestly. "I don't know why this happened."

"Grant, I'm so scared. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know how I'm going to live like this."

"I know you're scared, Skye. I am too. But we're going to get through this, together."

* * *

Four bullets rang out. It only took one to change their lives forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	5. Best in the Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye are the best at what they do. Catching bad guys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Here's the last update for the week. The prompt for this one was: Battle Couple. This is one is slightly inspired by the SyFy show Killjoys. It's one of my new favorites and when I read the prompt, my mind immediately went to that. It's not exactly identical, but it's what inspired this one. Which makes it an AU. No real time or place. But it is out in the middle of space, though. So there's that. 
> 
> Also, I know it's a super early update, but that's because I'm up super early because we're heading out of town for the day. We're going to my grandma's memorial service which is about five hours away. So yeah.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

Tossing the man into the holding cell, Skye throws the door of the cell shut, locking it as she does so. Wiping her hands together, she lets out a satisfied sigh and places her hands on her hips.

"You've been a very bad man, Paul," she tells the man in the cage. "And that's why you're locked up in this cage."

"You're crazy," the man spits back, holding his ribs with one arm. "You kicked me in the ribs."

Skye shrugs, "You weren't cooperating."

"Skye."

Turning around, Skye smiles kindly at the man approaching her, "Hey Coulson. We bagged another one for you," she juts her thumb behind her to the man in the cell.

"Good. I have another warrant waiting for you two."

"Already?" She asks, adjusting the holster on her hip. "We just barely landed."

He nods his head, "Yeah, I know. Walk with me," he gestures for her to follow him out of the prisoner holding area.

"It was really great meeting you," Skye calls sarcastically over her shoulder to the man in the cell. "So, who's the warrant for?" Skye asks Coulson as they make their way out into the hallway.

"There's a man we've been trying to find for years," Coulson explains. "Every time we try and get close to him, he disappears and goes underground again. Which is why I want my best on this."

Skye smiles. "Who's the guy?" she asks, pulling her hair back up into a messy bun.

"His name is Xan, no last name that we know of. He's the leader of a massive drug cartel that we've always suspected is operating out of the lower left quadrant."

"Ooh, risky space out in that quadrant."

"Yes. We've caught a few of his employees over the years, the lowest in his cartel, but none of them are willing to give up him or his location."

"They wanna stay loyal to the man," Skye interjects.

Coulson nods his head, "Unfortunately. However, lucky for us, someone close to him decided to flip. Gave us everything we wanted to know in exchange for protection from whoever may come after them."

"Smart idea," Skye nods her head.

"Very. And thanks to them, we know where Xan is."

"So you want us to find, tag, and bag him?"

"Basically. This one might be a little trickier than what you normally deal with though."

Skye stops walking and turns to look at Coulson with a raised eyebrow, "Seriously? You think we can't handle a tricky warrant? Do you even know who we are?"

He sighs, "Yeah, I know who you are. But like I said, this warrant could get pretty tricky. Even though we have his location, Xan is still a difficult man to find. I want you both to be extra careful when tracking him down."

"Yeah, alright. I'm just waiting for my other half to get back. I sent him to check on a few things for me while I tossed Paul in the cells."

"Honey, I'm home."

Looking to the side, Skye sees him standing with his arms spread out, a smile sitting on his unshaven face. He's wearing the same brown leather jacket he wears on every assignment and Skye can't help but let a small smile escape at the memory of the day he got the jacket.

With a smile on her face, she steps towards Grant. "So, Coulson says our next warrant is out in the lower left quadrant."

"Amazing," he smiles down at her. "I've always wanted to go there. Do you have a problem with going there?"

"Not at all," she shakes her head.

"Good. Because we're going to have a ton of fun out there."

"Warrants aren't supposed to be fun," she tells him. "You know that. Especially when we're out in the lower left quadrant."

"Oh come on," he says. "You mean fulfilling a warrant with your husband isn't going to be fun?"

She rolls her eyes at him, "We always fulfill warrants together." She turns to face Coulson again, "When are we leaving?"

"As soon as possible. Everything you need to know should already be uploaded onto your tablets and the ship should be well stocked. Check in with me as soon as you land, please."

"Sure thing, boss," Skye gives him a quick mock salute before turning towards the ship hold.

"Don't worry about her," Grant tells the older man.

"It's my job to worry," Coulson says back, turning around and making his way into the main part of the base.

Grant chuckles and then turns and makes his way towards the ship hold as well.

* * *

"So, when are we supposed to land?" Grant asks as he makes his way onto the bridge of the quinjet.

"Well," Skye says, hitting different buttons and switches on the console in front of her, "it's about three days out, so about three days."

"So we're stuck together on a ship for three days?" He asks, moving to sit in the chair next to her, a few feet away.

She nods her head, continuing to type, "Yep. Pretty much. Strap in," she instructs him. "We're about to take off."

"Yes ma'am," he gives her a small salute, strapping himself into his chair.

"Coordinates are locked on," Skye speaks as she punches more keys. "Disengaging holding clamps," she slowly pushes on a lever, lifting the quinjet out of its dock and suspending it in the air. She carefully turns the plane around so it's facing the vast openness of space. "Thrusters set at maximum power," she tells Grant. She briefly looks over at him, "You ready?"

"Born ready," he grins.

Skye smiles back before turning to the screen and quickly hitting another switch to engage the thrusters.

Grant and Skye are jolted back in their seats as their plane shoots forward into space.

* * *

"Hey," Skye says as she walks onto the bridge.

"Hey," Grant says back as he fiddles with a few buttons on the console in front of him. "You talk to Coulson?"

She nods her head, "Yep. I know we haven't landing yet, but I figured we're close enough. He told us to remember to be careful when finding Xan. Apparently the guy is really dangerous."

"Does he not know who we are?"

Skye laughs quietly, "That's what I said to him when he assigned us the warrant."

"He's just looking out for his best," Grant smiles.

"Yeah, I know."

"We're about to land," Grant tells her after a minute. "Get strapped in and ready for landing."

Skye moves towards the other chair, sits down in it and straps herself in. "Need some help landing the ship?" She asks.

"What makes you think I can't land the ship?" He furrows his brows.

"Don't you remember four years ago when we had that mission on the Eastern side of Dark Space?"

"Why do you always have to bring that up?"

"Because you almost ruined our ship, that's why."

"It wasn't entirely my fault, and you know it."

She shrugs, "Maybe not. But you were still the one flying the ship."

Grant rolls his eyes and proceeds to the land the ship.

* * *

"Xan!" Skye shouts.

The older man stops and turns around, his eyes narrowing when he sees her. "What do you want?"

"We've got a warrant out for you, Xan," she tells him.

"You're from SHIELD, I presume."

Skye nods her head once, "You are correct."

"You're not taking me in."

"And now you're incorrect," Skye tells him. "Now, we can do this the easy way where you just come willingly, or the hard way where we have to actually chase you down. And if you must know, I much prefer the hard way, because then I actually get to hit you and stuff," she reaches down and pulls out her gun, cocking it and holding it up. "And I may get to shoot you, so that could be fun."

Xan doesn't say anything, simply turns around and begins to run away from her.

Skye sighs, "They always have to run." She lifts a hand to her ear piece, "Babe, he's running. Coming your way."

"Yeah, I see him," Grant replies from his spot atop a large boulder. He adjusts his position and then leans over the side, waiting for Xan to get closer.

Once he's in his view, Grant jumps down off of the boulder, tackling Xan to the ground and then rolling across the ground. Xan gets up from the ground, wiping the dirt off of the front of his clothes. "What the hell?" he shouts.

Grant stands up as well, turning to face Xan, "You ran. I jumped and tackled."

"I know that," Xan bites back.

"Good. Then we're on the same page."

"Why is SHIELD so adamant about taking me in, huh?"

"Well, you run a drug cartel. And it's illegal to sell any kind of drug in most of the quadrants. So that's why we've got a warrant out for you. We've actually had one out for you for a while, but we've never been able to find you. And guess what? You've been found," Grant smirks.

Tightening his jaw, Xan charges Grant, lowering his head just a bit. Grant simply side steps, sending Xan a few steps past him.

Xan stumbles slightly before regaining his balance. He turns around to face Grant, "You guys better leave."

"And you better move."

Xan furrows his brows, "Huh?"

A tap on Xan's shoulder causes him to turn around to see Skye standing before him. "Hey there," she says to him before connecting her fist with his jaw.

Xan stumbles once more and then regains his balance, stepping forward and striking Skye across the jaw with his own fist. Then he reaches out and grabs hold of her upper arm, punching her in the jaw once more.

"Hey, dirt bag!" Grant shouts at him.

Xan looks over his shoulder, "What?"

"Keep your hands off my wife," he reaches out and grabs hold of Xan's shirt, pulling him away from Skye and tossing him to the ground. He quickly walks towards Xan and punches him in the face, keeping him down on the ground.

Grant kneels down on Xan's back to hold him in place and uses one of his hands to pin both of Xan's wrists behind his back. Xan struggles to get out from underneath of Grant, using as much of his strength as he can.

"You can struggle all you want," Grant says to Xan, "but it's not really going to help you any. Especially once my wife gets over here. She's the one with the cuffs."

"No cuffs can hold me," Xan snarls.

"Are you sure about that?" Skye asks as she walks up to the two men, dangling a pair of cuffs from her index finger. "These are special made handcuffs. Some close friends of ours made them. And they're pretty great, able to hold anyone. Even a lowlife scumbag like yourself."

"You two are insane."

"Maybe just a little bit," Skye smiles. She steps forward and quickly secures the handcuffs around Xan's wrists. "Alright," she stands back up, "time to take this jerk to where he really belongs."

* * *

"Xan is down in the cells," Skye says to Coulson as she and Grant make their way through the communal area of the station.

Many of the other agents in the room lift their heads in the direction of Grant, Skye, and Coulson.

"You really got him," Coulson says astounded.

"Yep," Skye smiles. "He's already processed and is ready for his sentencing."

Coulson smiles, "I knew I could count on the two of you to get it done."

"It helps that he didn't put up too much of a fight," Grant says. "I mean, we obviously have a couple of battle scars, but that's just more for the collection."

Coulson chuckles quietly, "Yes, well, thanks to the two of you, Xan and his drug cartel are finished. I've already dispatched a team to go in and seize all of Xan's merchandise and employees."

"Glad we could help," Skye replies. "Now, if you don't mind, I think we're going to get something to eat, then go back to our quarters and rest up for a bit."

"Of course," Coulson nods his head, "enjoy your downtime."

"We will," Skye says back as Coulson steps past them.

Grant and Skye grab hands and then make their way over to where two of their friends sit, eating dinner.

"Hey guys," Skye greets their friends with a smile. "Did you two have an assignment today?"

"We did," one of their friends, Bobbi Morse, nods her head. "Left this morning and got back in time for lunch."

"Who'd you bring in?" Skye asks.

"Just some lowlife who was claiming the usual stuff about us."

Skye nods her head in understanding, "Ah yes." She looks up at Grant, "I think we've had our fair share of those guys."

"Oi, did you two really bring in Xan?" Their other friend, Lance Hunter, asks.

Grant nods his head, "Yep."

"Wow," Lance sits back in his seat. "I think we went on assignment to get him once. Someone said they had his location. Turned out to be a bloody scam."

"That's too bad," Skye says. "It was pretty fun bringing him in. The little scamp put up a bit of fight."

"And I see you two got a couple wounds," Bobbi says, pointing to Skye's face.

Skye smiles, "All in a day's work."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know your thoughts in a review down below.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	6. Always a Risk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's always a risk in being a hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Here's the new one for ya! The prompt for this one was: Hurt/Comfort, Angst. Not sure how angsty it is, but it's definitely under the Hurt/Comfort category.
> 
> Enjoy!

"What do we have?"

"28 year old male. Stab wound in the side. Excessive bleeding."

"Let's get him to the O.R., stat."

* * *

" _Promise me you'll be careful?"_

" _Skye, I'm always careful. Nothing is going to go wrong."_

" _I know. I just have a bad feeling about today. Don't go to work."_

" _I have to. It's a really big event today, and he needs all of his security guys there."_

" _Fine. Just please be careful. We can't lose you."_

" _You aren't going to lose me. Our baby is still going to have a father at the end of the day."_

* * *

"Sir. Sir, can you tell me what your name is?"

"G-grant Ward."

"Okay, Grant. I need you to stay awake for me. Do you think you can you do that?"

"My—my wife. Our baby. I have to…"

"You're gonna stay right here, Grant. We're gonna fix you up and then you can go and see your family."

"O-okay."

* * *

" _Hey Ward, how's your wife doing?"_

" _She's doing really great. We get to find out next week if we're having a boy or a girl."_

" _That's great, man. What are you hoping for?"_

" _I think I'd like to have a daughter. But honestly, I'll be fine either way, as long as the baby is happy and healthy."_

" _That's a great way to look at it. And by the way, you know that Charlie works for either a boy or a girl."_

" _I'll have to see what Skye thinks about that one. I think she already has some name ideas picked out."_

" _Well, whatever you decide to name the kid, I'm sure they'll be very good looking."_

" _Thanks, Charlie."_

" _Anytime, Ward. Now come on, we have a very important person to protect."_

* * *

"I don't see any other injuries inside. Keep suctioning the blood, please."

"Yes doctor."

"We need to get this guy sewn up so he can see his family again."

* * *

" _Ward."_

" _Yeah, Charlie?"_

" _You see that guy over there at three o'clock?"_

" _Yeah, I see him."_

" _He looks kind of suspicious."_

" _Okay. You stay here, I'll check him out."_

" _Be careful, Ward."_

" _Yeah, you too."_

* * *

"Damn it! He keeps bleeding. Where's my suction for all this blood?"

"The suction's in, doc."

"Why isn't it working?"

"It is."

"Then why is there so much blood?!"

* * *

" _Excuse me, sir. I'm going to need you to get back behind the barriers."_

" _Get out of my way."_

" _I can't do that. I'm going to ask you again to please get back behind the barriers."_

" _I said get out of my way!"_

" _Whoa, hey! There's no need for that."_

" _That man caused my family's death. He has to pay."_

" _This isn't necessary. I'm sure it wasn't—"_

" _Ward!"_

* * *

"I found it! The blade nicked an artery. Give me the sutures, quickly!"

"Here."

"Thank you."

"BP and heart rate dropping rapidly."

"Don't die on me, kid, you hear me? Don't die on me."

* * *

" _Ward! Can you hear me? It's Charlie."_

" _Skye."_

" _I'm having Karen go and get her. She'll meet you at the hospital."_

" _The—the baby."_

" _You'll get to see your baby being born, man. Don't you worry about that."_

" _Ch-charlie."_

" _Yeah, man. It's me. I'm right here. The ambulance just arrived too. I'm going to ride with you. You're going to be alright, Ward. You're gonna be just fine."_

* * *

"How is he?"

"He's stable."

"Thank goodness. This was a close one."

"Too close. Get him to a recovery room. I'll go find his family, let them know the good news."

* * *

"Family of Grant Ward?"

"I'm Skye, his wife. How is he? Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay."

"He's fine. The blade nicked one of his arteries but we managed to suture it closed. We sewed him up and he's going to be just fine."

"Oh thank goodness. Can I go and see him?"

"Yes, you can go see him. He might still be sleeping though, but you're more than welcome to go back there."

"Thank you. And I don't care if he's not awake. I just need to see him."

* * *

"Hi, Grant. I don't know if you can hear me or not. But I just want you to know I love you."

…

"And I'm really glad you're okay. Charlie said you were trying to stop some guy from killing Bill. And that the guy stabbed you. You always were the one who'd be willing to step in harms way to save someone. It's one of the reasons why I fell in love you."

…

"I was so scared when Karen came and told me what happened. I think the baby was too. They kept kicking up a storm while we waited for the doctor to come out and talk to us. But I don't have to be scared anymore, because you're going to be okay."

…

"I told you this morning I didn't want you to go to work. I knew something like this was going to happen. But you had to go; you had to be a hero. Can't really say I'm surprised about it, you've always been a hero in my eyes. And I—"

…

"Nurse! Doctor! Someone please! Help!"

"What's going on?"

"I—I don't know. I was just talking to him and then there was all this beeping. Please save him. I can't lose him."

"Don't worry. You're not going to lose him. Not if we have something to say about it. But I'm going to need you to wait outside."

"But I—"

"Please ma'am. You need to give us room to work."

"Yeah, okay."

* * *

"Skye."

"Charlie."

"How is he?"

"…"

"I thought the doctor said he's okay?"

"He was. But then all the machines started going crazy while I was in there. They're trying to fix it now."

"Okay. What do we do now?"

"We just wait, I guess."

* * *

"Mrs. Ward?"

"Yes? How is he? What happened?"

"His blood pressure dropped again. Which is completely normal in this kind of situation."

"So did you fix it?"

"Yes, we did. Your husband is perfectly fine and it's more than likely he will stay that way."

"Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. Can I go back?"

"Yes, of course."

"Thank you."

* * *

"Hey babe. I'm back. I'm sorry I didn't come by yesterday. I was really busy. But I'm here now. And I know visiting hours are almost over, but I had to come and see you."

…

"I really wish you'd wake up soon. The baby keeps kicking. I think they know how upset I am right now. If you'd just—"

"Mmmm…."

"Grant? Babe, can you hear me?"

"Mmmm…."

"Babe, oh my goodness. Wake up for me. I know you can do this."

…

"Right. Okay. That's fine too. Maybe tomorrow."

* * *

"Hey sweetie, I'm back. Just like I told you I'd be. Because I love you and I want you to wake up. I don't know why it's taking you so long to wake up. The doctors don't know either. Can you tell me why?"

…

"I mean, it's only been a few days, but the doctor said you should have woken up by now and I—"

"Ssss…"

"Grant?"

"Sskye."

"Oh my gosh. Yes, Grant, I'm right here. Just open your eyes for me, babe. Just open those beautiful brown eyes for me."

…

"Of course. Why did I think this time would be different? I mean, the last few times I've talked to you, you've made random noises or words, but then nothing after that. And it's scaring me Grant, it really is. And I just, I don't know if—"

"You talk a lot when you're scared."

"Grant! You're awake!"

"Yeah, I am."

"I didn't know if you were going to wake up."

"But I did."

"Are you thirsty? You're probably thirsty. Here, let me get you some water."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. How does it feel?"

"Refreshing. It's definitely what I needed."

"Good. And Grant, I'm really glad you're awake."

"Me too, Skye, me too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below.
> 
> Sorry if the parts where they were operating sounded weird or whatnot. I'm not an expert with the medical stuff, so I wasn't exactly sure how to write it. I tried googling some stuff, but I couldn't find what I needed. So yeah.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	7. Late Night Treat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye convinces Grant to bake cinnamon rolls with her in the middle of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Here's the next one for ya. The prompt for this one was: Romance/Fluff. So I combined it with another prompt of sorts that I found a while back: Bake in the middle of the night with someone I love.  
> So this one-shot was born.  
> Hope you enjoy!

“Grant? Grant.” Skye lies on the bed on her stomach, her feet lifted up in the air. She reaches out with her hand to poke her boyfriend in the cheek. “Grant,” she says again, poking him harder.

“Go to sleep,” she hears him mumble, his face half buried in the pillow.

She sighs and pokes him again, the time in his sides, “Grant, wake up.”

A few seconds later, Grant rolls over onto his back and looks at Skye with half-lidded eyes. “What?”

“I wanna make cinnamon rolls.”

He furrows his brows, “What?”

“I want to make cinnamon rolls,” she repeats with a smile.

“You woke me up at,” he turns his head to look at the alarm clock and then back at her, “12:07 in the morning to tell me you want to make cinnamon rolls?”

She bites her lip and nods her head, “Mm-hmm.”

“Why did you have to wake me up? If you want to make cinnamon rolls, go make cinnamon rolls.”

“I want you to make them with me,” she tells him.

“Seriously?”

She nods her head again, “Yeah.” She scoots up and rests her arms on his chest, “Please?” She leans down and gives him a small kiss. “Pretty please?” she asks against his lips and then pulls back.

Grant sighs, “Fine. We can make cinnamon rolls.”

Skye grins, “You are the absolute best. I’ll be out in the kitchen. Come join me when you’re not half asleep.” She gives him one more kiss before sliding off of the bed, wearing her boy shorts and tank top, and making her way out of the room to the kitchen.

* * *

 Two minutes later, Grant walks into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and letting out a yawn. As he steps further into the kitchen, he sees Skye standing at the counter, many bowls, utensils, and ingredients surrounding her.

“I see you already got started,” he remarks as he walks over and stands behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She smiles, “Yeah. Luckily for you, I got everything out and ready to go before I came and woke you up.”

“Does that mean you never actually came to bed?” He asks her.

She shrugs, “Maybe. But I kind of took a nap earlier, so I wasn’t tired. And you know me, I’ve always been a night owl.” She smiles at him over her shoulder.

“Yes you are,” he replies. “How’s the mixing going?” he asks.

“Good,” she nods her head. “And this should almost be done soon,” she gestures to the mixture in the bowl in front of her.

“You said you wanted to make these together, so what do you need me to do?” he asks her.

“Will you grab the bowl right there,” she nods her head to the small mixing bowl off to the side, “and pour it in here?”

“That I can do,” he presses a kiss to her cheek before unwrapping himself from around her to grab the small bowl off of the counter. He steps back over to her and dumps the contents of the small bowl into the larger one Skye is using.

“Thank you,” she says to him.

“You’re welcome,” he smiles.

“Can you get me two more cups of flour and pour it in here too?”

“Yep,” he replies, moving over to the bag of flour sitting on the countertop. He picks up the measuring cup and dips it inside the bag, scooping up some flour. He carefully pours the first cup into the bowl, smiling at his girlfriend as he does so. She smiles back at him.

“One more cup of flour,” she informs him.

“Got it,” he nods his head seriously, turning back to the flour bag. He dips the cup back in, scooping up some more flour. He steps over to the bowl, dumping the flour roughly into the bowl, causing some of it to fly into Skye’s face.

“What was that for?” she looks over at him.

“It was an accident,” he smiles sheepishly.

“Then so is this,” she smirks, reaches into the bowl and grabs a pinch of flour, throwing it in his face.

He laughs, “I guess I deserved that.”

“Yes you did.”

“Do I also deserve a kiss?” he asks.

Skye looks at him as she thinks. She sighs playfully, “I guess you do.”

He smiles and leans over, stealing a kiss from her lips. “Thank you,” he says against her lips.

She pulls back and smiles at him, “You’re welcome. Now spread a light layer of flour on the counter so we can knead this when I’m done mixing it.”

“Yes ma’am,” he gives her a small nod of his head, turning back to the flour.

“Is the counter ready?” she asks him after a moment.

He nods his head, “Mm-mm.”

“Great,” she picks up the bowl and steps over to where he is, playfully nudging him out of the way with her hip. She sets the bowl down and then tips it on its side, pulling the dough out of the bowl and onto the counter.

“What do we do now?” Grant asks as he watches Skye push and pull the dough through the flour, folding it over itself.

“ _I_ knead the dough,” she tells him.

“Oh come on,” he groans. “You woke me up in the middle of the night because you want to make cinnamon rolls, but you aren’t going to let me help?”

“You _did_ help.”

“With the flour,” he reminds her.

“But you still helped,” she smiles encouragingly. He just raises his eyebrows. She sighs, “Alright, come here.”

Grant smiles and steps up behind Skye, wrapping his arms around her waist and placing his hands over hers on the dough. “I’m ready,” he grins.

She smiles back, “Okay.” She turns back to face the dough, “Now what you’re going to do is gently push the dough with your palms like this, and then grab the end of it and pull it back towards you. Then you push with your palms and pull it back towards you. And as you knead it, you turn it in a circle, so you get each bit of the dough kneaded. Watch me,” she tells him and then begins to move the dough through flour, folding it over itself many times. Then she stops and looks at him, “You think you can do that?”

“I can try,” he says back, moving his hands to the dough. “Like this?” he asks, starting to awkwardly push and pull on the dough.

Skye shakes her head, “No. Watch me again,” she swats his hands away and then continues to knead the dough, humming quietly as she does so.

Grant smiles at the sweet sound, thinking back to when they first met; she was humming while working at her computer, too lost in her own world to notice him talking to her at first.

A small chuckle from his causes Skye to stop kneading and look up at him.

“Why’d you laugh?” She asks him.

“No reason,” he smiles. “You were humming,” he then says, somewhat softly.

She nods her head, “Yeah, I know.”

He smiles, “It’s cute. I love it when you hum while you do things.”

Heat rushes to her cheeks and she dips her head down. He reaches a hand up and gently grabs her chin, turning her face towards him. He leans down and lets his lips ghost over hers for just a minute. Then he leans down the rest of the way, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss. He lets his hand fall from her chin and loop around to the back of her neck, deepening the kiss. He drops his other hand to her hip, turning her around the rest of the way and using his body to hold her against the edge of the counter.

Skye moans into the kiss when Grant runs his tongue along her lips, begging for entrance. She happily grants it to him, bringing her hands up to tangle in his hair, pulling him down closer to her.

A minute later, Skye pulls her head out of the kiss, detaching their lips; Grant’s lips follow after hers, searching for the connection again.

Skye shakes her head, bringing her mind back into focus, “Mm-mm. Not right now. Let me-let me finish kneading this and get them rising first.”

“And then…?” he trails off.

She nods her head, “Yeah, just give me a minute.” She kisses him quickly and then turns around back to the dough, beginning to knead it again.

Grant steps up behind her, placing his hands on her hips. He dips his head down and peppers a trail of kisses down her neck.

Skye moans quietly at the feeling of his lips on her skin, but quickly shakes him off. “Stop it,” she reprimands with a small smile. “Don’t you want cinnamon rolls?”

“Mmm,” he hums against the softness of her skin. “I just want you.”

“Well tough. And I told you, just give me another minute to finish kneading this.” She turns her head around to look at him and whispers, “Then I’m all yours.” Before he can kiss her, she turns her head back around, quickly finishing up the dough.

Once done, she picks up the dough and sets it inside a bowl she had already greased with Crisco. She covers the bowl with a clean dish towel, and lets it sit in the center of the counter.

“Are you done now?” Grant asks her.

She nods her head as she slides the bowl back on the counter, “Mm-hmm. Just need to give it about an hour and a half to rise.”

“That’s more than enough time,” he says huskily into her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

Before she can really react, he spins her around, lifts her up onto his waist, and connects their lips together.

Moving away from the counter, he carries her back down to their bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him.

* * *

“How much longer until the cinnamon rolls are done?” Grant asks from where he’s leaning forward against the counter, his forearms sitting on top of the marble top.

Skye looks at the time on the microwave. “About two more minutes,” she tells him, then turns back to the mixture in front of her.

“What is that again?” Grant asks, nodding to the bowl.

Skye sighs and looks at him, “It’s the glaze for the tops of the cinnamon rolls.”

Grant nods his head in understanding, “Okay. Can I help you?”

She shakes her head, “Sorry. This is more of a one person job.” She looks at him and smiles, “But you are more than welcome to just watch me mix and smell the deliciousness that is the cooking of the cinnamon rolls.”

“That is something I can definitely do,” he smiles back. He leans towards the oven door and takes a deep breath, then lets it out, “Mm. Delicious.”

Skye laughs, “You are such a dork.”

“But I’m your dork,” he smiles, leaning back towards her.

“Unfortunately,” she sighs playfully.

“You know you love me,” he grins at her.

“I suppose I do,” she teases.

The timer on the microwave goes off, making Grant stands up straight and turn his head towards the oven. Then he looks back at Skye.

“Cinnamon rolls are done,” he tells her, his mouth practically watering.

“I know,” she chuckles, reaching for an oven mitt, “I heard the timer too. Now move please,” she bumps him with her hip and pulls open the oven door. Reaching inside, she grips the edge of the tray with the mitt and pulls it out, shutting the oven door and turning off the heat. She sets the tray down on the counter and removes the oven mitt from her hand, setting it on the counter as well.

“Can we eat them now?” Grant asks eagerly.

Skye shakes her head, “Nope. We have to wait for them to cool off. Then we pour the glaze over top of them. Then we can eat them.”

“But that’s just more waiting,” he tells her. “And I want to eat them now.”

She shakes her head again, “You have to wait.”

He sighs, “Fine. I have to use the bathroom anyways. So I guess I’ll just eat one when I get back.”

“Yes you will,” she smiles, watching as he walks away to the bathroom.

* * *

 “Alright, I’m back and I’m ready to eat a cinnamon roll. Please tell me they’re ready to eat. Because they smell absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to—what’s going on?”

Skye smiles at him from where she sits on top of the counter, her legs hanging down and her ankles crossed. In her hands she’s holding a small glass plate with a cinnamon roll sitting on top of it, the glaze dripping down the sides of the treat. A single lit candle is standing in the center of it.

“Happy Birthday,” she smiles lovingly at him as he walks towards her.

He stops directly in front of her, placing his hands on her thighs, letting his fingers creep underneath of the hem of his shirt that she’s wearing. He smiles, “What?”

“Happy Birthday,” she repeats, bringing the plate up in front of his face. “It’s 2:33 am, which makes it officially your birthday.”

“How did you…?”

“I’m a Computer Science major and a hacker by nature, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.” He’s quiet for a minute as he looks around the kitchen at the mess waiting to be cleaned up. Then he looks back at Skye, “You did all this for my birthday?”

She bites her bottom lip between her teeth and nods her head, lowering the plate just a bit.

He leans forward and steals a kiss from her. When he pulls back, he smiles a tad bit bigger, “Thank you.”

“So you’re not mad?” She asks hesitantly.

He furrows his brows, “Why on earth would I be mad?”

“Because in all the years we’ve been friends, never once have I known you to actually want to celebrate your birthday. I guess I kind of figured you to be the kind of guy who would get mad at someone for trying to celebrate your birthday in any kind of way.”

He sighs, “The reason I’ve never celebrated my birthday, is because as a kid, in my family, a birthday was just another day. We never did anything special. My parents were always too busy and the most we ever got out of our birthday was them telling us we were a year older. When I got older and out on my own, I just never really bothered to celebrate it. Never really had a reason to celebrate it either.”

“And now?” Skye asks.

Grant smiles, “And now I have the greatest reason to celebrate my birthday.”

“Which would be?”

“I have the most beautiful person in the entire world to celebrate it with.”

Skye smiles at him. “Make a wish and blow out your candle.”

“I would make a wish, but everything I’ve ever wanted is right in front of me,” he leans forward for another kiss.

Skye leans forward as well, but pauses at the last second. “Stop being such a sap and blow out the candle,” she tells him, holding the plate up in front of him again.

He sighs, “Alright.” He closes his eyes for a moment and then opens them again, using his breath to extinguish the small flame in front of him. “Happy?” He asks, looking at his girlfriend.

She nods her head, “Very. Now here,” she shoves the plate at him, “eat your birthday breakfast cinnamon roll.”

He gratefully takes the plate from her, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she leans forward and gives him a quick kiss. When she pulls away, she grabs herself a cinnamon roll and begins eating it.

“Hey Skye?”

“Hmm,” she replies, pulling apart her cinnamon roll.

“Why cinnamon rolls?” He asks her. “Isn’t a cupcake or an actual cake what you usually make for someone on their birthday?”

Skye shrugs, “Usually, yeah. But I wanted to do something a little different and less cliché. And honestly, you can never go wrong with cinnamon rolls.”

“No you cannot,” he smiles. “But do you really think we can eat all of those cinnamon rolls before they go stale and we have to throw them out?”

“I already thought of that,” Skye smiles. “Take a bunch of them to work for the other guys. Tell them they’re from me, as a sort of thank you for always taking such good care of my favorite guy.”

“I’m sure they’ll really appreciate it,” he smiles. “And you’ll probably become their instant favorite.”

“Good,” she smiles back, tearing off a piece of her cinnamon roll and popping it into her mouth.

“And Skye?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. For doing this for me. No one’s ever done anything like this for me before. Especially not for my birthday.”

She reaches out and places her hand on his cheek, “Well now you have someone who will.” She leans forward to give him a chaste kiss. When she pulls back, she smiles, “Because you’re a really great guy whose birth deserves to be celebrated, and I want you to always remember that.”

“I will,” he nods his head. “And does this mean that now I can expect cinnamon rolls for breakfast every year on my birthday?” he asks hopefully.

“Would you like that?” She asks him with a small smile.

He nods his head.

“Then yes, I’ll make you cinnamon rolls for breakfast every year on your birthday.”

He grins, “You’re the best.”

Skye smiles, “I know.”

“One more thing,” he says.

“Yes?”

“I want cinnamon rolls on my birthday; just don’t wake me up at midnight to make them with you.”

Skye laughs out loud and smiles down at him, “Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know your thoughts in a review below. 
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	8. Cupcake Wars Interrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant gets a little jealous while Skye and her friends try to watch the season finale of Cupcake Wars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Here's today's one-shot. The prompt for this one was: Humor. I couldn't really come up with anything funny, so I kind of stole this one from a YouTube video. It's called "Cupcake Wars Interrupted By Jealous Husband". It's by a comedy sketch group called Studio C. They're one of my favorite groups and they're always putting out new content on their channel. You should definitely check them out.
> 
> So, this one-shot is almost word for word like that video. Except I did a little bit of tweaking with some of it.
> 
> It is very OOC. Just so you know.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Okay ladies," Skye says as she makes her way around to the end of the couch in the living room, "it's time for the Food Network event we've been waiting for all year. Who's ready for the  _Cupcake Wars_  finale?!"

The other four women in the room whoop and cheer as they all take their seats on the couch and chair, all of them decked out in gear for their favorite team. Skye moves over to the end of the couch and sits down.

"About to get my rice cake on!" Bobbi announces from her end of the couch.

"Sugar free?" Jemma asks.

"You know it playa!" Bobbi replies, holding her hand up for a high-five, which Jemma gives her.

"I am so stoked for this show," Skye says. "Team Sweetness is gonna dominate!"

"Wait wait wait!" Jemma exclaims, waving her hand in front of Skye's face as she leans towards the TV screen. "Here come the judges. Oh, look at that tie, look at that tie! Talk about perfect color coordination."

"Okay, shh, quiet. It's about to start," Bobbi says to Jemma, turning her attention towards the screen.

" _Ladies,"_  the man on the TV speaks up,  _"welcome to the 2015 Cupcake Wars finale!"_

All five women in the room whoop and cheer again.

"Ahem," Grant clears his throat as he enters the living from the kitchen.

"Hey babe," Skye gives him a quick look back before leaning back into the couch and focusing on the TV. "What's up?"

"Hey, Mr. W," Jemma says, "thank you for letting us crash your place." She reaches up and grabs the small tube attached to her helmet, allowing her to drink some pink lemonade.

"Um, Skye, can I talk to you for a second? In private, please?"

Skye sighs before looking at her friends, "Be right back, ladies."

"Typical man," Bobbi leans over to Jemma as Skye stands from the couch. "Nag nag nag."

"Babe, can't this wait?" Skye asks Grant as she reaches him at the back of the room. "It just started."

"Look, I don't wanna be  _that husband_ , but you promised me that before your friends came over you would help me change the cars oil."

Skye groans, "Come on, babe. It's Super Cupcake Bowl Tuesday. Plus, aren't cars more of the man's domain?" She asks through the side of her mouth.

"Oh," Grant breathes out, "how can you be so insensitive?" He turns around and faces away from Skye.

"What? I'm so—okay I'm sorry," she steps up to him and wraps her arms around him from behind, pressing her cheek against his back. "Shh, shh. I know that was insensitive, alright?" She steps back and places one hand on his arm, "Listen, listen. When this is over we can watch that movie you want."

" _Exploding Snakes 3_?" Grant asks with a big smile. "Yes! You better not be messing with me because I will not watch another Hugh Grant rom-com."

She holds her hands up, "Okay, fine."

Skye takes a step towards the house when she hears a dog outside start to bark. She stops and turns slightly towards him, "Um, babe. The dog is barking, so…"

"Oh sure," Grant says. "I'll go take care of that because that's the  _man's domain_ , right?" He looks pointedly at Skye.

She furrows her brows, "Well you're the one that wanted a dog instead of a baby."

He gasps, "That is not fair." He turns and stalks off back into the kitchen.

"No no no, come on!" Jemma exclaims from her spot as Skye moves over to the couch and leans forward against the back of it. "You're using too much orange zest. That is too much ze—oh you're killing me."

"What'd I miss?" Skye asks as she moves around and takes her place again on the couch.

"It was crazy," Bobbi replies. "The captain of the Sugar Ladies got disqualified for using performance enhancing yeast." She reaches up to her headband and grabs the cupcake resting in the small holder, bringing it down and taking a bite.

"Ah, honestly," Jemma says. "I don't know why these women get paid so much. I totally would have gone pro if I hadn't injured my mixing hand in college."

"Yeah," Bobbi and Skye agree.

"Hey babe," Skye says as Grant enters the living room again, carrying a tray of lemonade, "you can just leave those on the table for us, thanks." She points to the table against the wall, her eyes remaining focused on the TV.

"So," Grant speaks up after setting the tray down, "uh, who's playing, huh? Who's playing?" He casually makes his way across the room, standing next to the chair against the end of the couch.

"Um, Sugar Ladies and Team Sweetness," Bobbi tells him, not taking her eyes off the TV.

"Oh, cool," Grant says as he steps forward between the women and the TV. "What's that thing they're using?" He leans down slightly, pointing to the TV, causing the woman behind him to lean out from behind to see the TV.

"An egg beater," Jemma informs him.

"Nice," Grant says. "What does that do?"

"You're in the way," Skye whispers to Grant as she reaches out for him.

"It beats eggs," Jemma replies.

"Okay, okay," he nods his head in understanding, standing up and continuing to move through the ladies' line of sight with the TV. Skye grabs him by the sleeve of his shirt and pulls him towards her. "Which one's Team Sweetness again?" He asks.

"Okay, hey, whatcha doing?" Skye asks him as she pulls him down to sit on the arm of the couch next to her.

"Oh wait," he sits up straight, "I think I'm getting the hang of this." He leans forward slightly, pointing at the TV, "That's called a giant metal spoon, right?"

"Frying pan," Bobbi corrects him.

"Ah, that's it," he sits back.

"Okay," Skye says to him in a low voice, "you're embarrassing me."

"Well I'm sorry I don't understand every little thing about baking okay? It's so stinking complicated!" He whisper yells to her.

"This is why men are supposed to stay in the garage," Skye says frustratingly.

"Oh, that is it," Grant turns away from her. He stands up and looks down at her, "I am sleeping on the couch tonight."

He turns and walks away back into the kitchen.

"He's fine," Skye assures the other women, "okay? He's fine."

"Okay here we go," Bobbi speaks up. "They're about to announce the winners."

" _And the winner of the 2015 Cupcake Wars finale is—"_

"What?" Bobbi exclaims when the TV screen cuts to black.

"Noo!" Jemma screams.

"What?" Skye screams as well.

"What happened?!" Jemma yells as she stands from the couch and moves towards the TV, all the other women freaking out behind her.

"Oops!" Grant says as he enters the living room once more, carrying a cable wire in one hand, and a pair of scissors in the other. "I guess this is what happens when a man leaves the garage," he says sarcastically. Standing up from the couch, Skye moves over to where he is. "Maybe I should go widdle ya something cause apparently, that's all I'm good for," he drops the two items onto the floor.

"Are you crazy?!" Skye exclaims. "You dang drama king! You're such like your father. You're just like him!"

"Oh how dare you! I am taking our dog and I am leaving! To a football game!" He storms past her.

"Oh," Skye groans. "Babe, be reasonable."

He stops and turns back towards her, "You leave me no choice."

"Come on, babe. Don't do this."

"I will call you at halftime!" Grant shouts as he makes his way towards the front door.

"Fine!" Skye shouts back, walking back over to the couch. "At least now we can paint our nails on the couch."

"Yeah, that's true," Bobbi says.

"Don't you even think about it," Grant says as he rushes back over. "It's bad enough you get crumbs everywhere," he brushes some crumbs off of the couch cushion before turning and making his way back out of the room.

Skye just throws her hands up in the air and lets out a deep sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	9. Ultimate Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant's an Inhuman now. Skye agrees to help him adjust. But only because he's an Inhuman like her. Not because deep down she still likes him or anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Here's another for ya. This one's kind of a long one, but I think it's pretty good. The prompt for this one was: Quake & Hellfire. So here it is.
> 
> Few quick notes so you're aware. In this universe, the final few episodes did happen. Except Ward never left Kara with SHIELD, and so they didn't kidnap and torture Bobbi, and Kara didn't die. All the other stuff happened, though.
> 
> Enjoy!

Walking down the hallway of the Playground, Skye makes her way towards Coulson's office, going through some files on her tablet as she walks.

When she reaches Coulson's office, she locks her tablet and then reaches up to knock on the door.

"Come in," Coulson calls from the other side.

Pushing the door open, Skye steps inside and swiftly moves over to his desk, standing in front of it. "You wanted to see me?"

Coulson looks up at her, "Yes, have a seat."

Skye does so, crossing one leg over the other as she does so. "So, what is this about?"

"We got an anonymous tip earlier today," he tells her.

"About what?"

"An Inhuman."

Skye sits up straighter, uncrossing her legs, her intrigued piqued, "Where?"

"Arizona. We're not sure what abilities this Inhuman may have, the person who called it in didn't say anything. So I want you to be cautious when going there."

Skye nods her head, "Yeah, I know."

"Good. Agent Porter is going to take you there in the quinjet. The coordinates we received are pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, so Agent Porter is going to fly you in quite a ways away from the location, that way we don't startle whoever this might be. You're going to have to walk the rest of the way to the location."

Skye nods her head in understand, "Got it."

"Great," Coulson replies. "Go get suited up and meet Agent Porter at the hanger."

"Copy that, boss man," Skye gives him a mock salute as she stands from her chair and makes her way out of the office.

* * *

"Alright Agent Porter," Skye speaks up as she checks her ICER before tucking it into the waistband of her jeans, "I'm going to find our supposed Inhuman. I need you to stay here and watch the quinjet. I'll let you know over comm. when I'm on my way back and whether or not I have an Inhuman with me."

"Copy that, Agent Johnson," Porter says, pressing a few buttons on the console in front of him.

Skye pushes the comm. into her ear, making sure it's comfortable, before turning to look at Porter. "Alright, I'm going out. Don't open the quinjet to anyone that isn't me. And if I tell you to leave without me, you leave and don't ask questions. Understand?"

Porter nods his head once, "Yes ma'am."

"Good." Skye turns back towards the open bay door and takes a deep breath. "Here I go," she says to herself as she steps down off of the ramp and into the hot Arizona weather.

* * *

As she nears the location that was sent to them though the anonymous tip, Skye reaches up to activate her comm. "Agent Porter," she speaks up.

" _Agent Johnson,"_  the man replies.

"I'm nearing the location. I think I see an abandoned building up ahead. Most likely that's where this supposed Inhuman is."

" _Copy that. Quinjet is on standby and ready to go when you get back."_

"Great. Talk to you soon." She deactivates her comm. as she approaches the run down building.

Carefully making her way across the debris, she takes notice of bits of the building that are charred. As she steps through the building, she looks around for any sign of life. "Hello?" she calls out into the building. "Is anyone here?"

Hearing movement from beside her, she quickly whips around, her hand instinctively going for her ICER. She stops when she sees a raven-haired woman slowly approaching her.

"I didn't mean to startle you," the woman says. "But I heard you call out."

"Who are you?" Skye asks her as the woman gets closer.

"You really don't recognize me?"

Skye furrows her brows as she takes in the appearance of the other woman. Then her eyes go wide, "Agent 33."

"It's Kara," the woman snaps. "My name is Kara."

"Right, Kara. Sorry. Um, how did you get the mask off?" She asks carefully.

"I didn't," Kara replies. "Just found someone who could help me fix it."

"Okay. And I'm guessing you're the one who called in the anonymous tip, considering you're here."

Kara nods her head, "Yeah, that was me. He's this way," she gestures for Skye to follow her through the building.

Skye hesitates only for a moment before following Kara into the back of the building, her hand still resting on her ICER.

"He doesn't know you're here," Kara tells Skye as they walk. "If he knew that I called SHIELD he wouldn't be too happy with me."

"Who wouldn't be too happy with you?" Skye asks, slightly confused.

"Kara," a raspy voice calls out. "Where did you go?"

"It's alright," Kara speaks up, walking towards the far corner in the room, where Skye can see a figure curled up. "I just went outside for a minute. But I'm back. How are you feeling?" Kara kneels down in front of the figure.

"Like I'm in hell," the figure says. "My insides feel like the sun right now."

"I have someone here who can help you."

"W-who is it?"

Kara turns around and gestures for Skye to walk closer.

Skye slowly starts moving forward, "Hi. I'm here to help you. What you're experiencing right now is perfectly normal for people like us."

"People like us?"

"We call ourselves Inhumans."

"Inhumans," he repeats shakily.

"Yeah," Skye nods her head, "Inhumans. I work with a group of Inhumans, helping them to better understand and control their abilities. If you want, you can come with me and I can help you."

"Wh-what did you say your name was?"

"I didn't. But my name is Skye. Skye Johnson."

The man in the corner stills. "Kara, get her out of here."

"She's here to help."

"No!" he shouts, large flames flying from his hands to burn the parts of the building around him.

"Grant, you need to get help. You're too—"

"Whoa," Skye interrupts Kara after the initial shock, "hang on a second." She turns to face the figure, "Ward?"

The man in the corner shifts until he's standing on both feet. He turns around so he's fully facing Skye. A painful smile grows on his face, "Didn't think you'd ever see me again, did you?"

"What the hell?" Skye exclaims. "This can't be happening."

"Well it is," Kara says firmly. "Grant's an Inhuman, just like you. You said you help Inhumans, so help him."

Skye starts breathing heavily, internally conflicted. It's her duty to help others like her, so they can understand their abilities. But this is also the man who betrayed all of them.

"Hey, aren't you going to help him?" Kara asks Skye.

Skye pulls herself out of her thoughts and looks at Kara. "Yes," she nods her head, "I'm going to help him." She looks at Grant, "But only because I made a promise to help everyone who's like me, even if it's someone I don't particularly like."

"I don't need your help," Grant bites out.

"Yes you do," Kara tells him. "You're unstable. You need to be somewhere with people who can help you. And as much as I don't like SHIELD, it's really your only option right now."

Grant lets out an indignant huff, "Fine. But I can't make any promises that I won't accidentally burn or leave scorch marks on you or anyone else. Like Kara said, I don't have the best control right now." He glances around to the charred wood from where he was sitting.

"But you'll learn to control it," Skye tells him. "You'll learn the extent of your abilities, how to control them, and how to best utilize them when out in the field."

"Out in the field?" Grant asks.

"I'll explain more when we're in the air," she says. She reaches her hand up to her comm., "Agent Porter. This is Agent Johnson; I'm on my way back. Two extra passengers. One Inhuman, one human."

" _Copy that, Agent Johnson. Quinjet is ready to leave once you arrive."_

"Good. Oh, and make sure the fire extinguisher is easily accessible."

* * *

"So where exactly are we going?" Grant asks when the quinjet is in the air.

"To the Playground," Skye tells him. "When we started Project Caterpillars, we converted part of the base into a housing and training facility for Inhumans."

"Okay. And are you some kind of recruiter then? You go and find helpless Inhumans and help them with their abilities and then use them out in the field."

"Something like that," Skye says. "But um, I'm also in charge of the group. Their leader, I guess you could say."

"You're the leader of Project Caterpillars?" Grant raises a brow.

Skye nods her head, "Yeah, I am."

"Wow, you've come a long way, Rookie."

"Stop," Skye holds her hand up. Then she brings it down and looks directly at Grant, "I may be bringing you to the Playground, but it's only to help you adjust to having these abilities. We are not going to sit around a campfire and reminisce about days that are past. So that means don't call me Rookie. I'm also your superior from now on, so you'll treat me with respect and follow my orders. Understood?"

Grant nods his head, "Understood."

"Good. Then hopefully we won't have any problems."

"Yeah, hopefully."

* * *

"This is the wing for all Inhumans," Skye explains to Ward as she leads him and Kara through the building. "We have a couple transitioning rooms, just in case we bring in multiple Inhumans at once. The transitioning room is where you'll be treated to help your body adjust to having these new abilities. There are two training rooms down that hallway," she points to a hallway as they walk past it, "for all Inhumans to practice controlling and handling their abilities. They're both pretty well equipped to handle any Inhuman ability, and as we discover more abilities, we adjust the rooms and improve them to be able to handle those abilities. Inhumans have their own bunks in this wing, for safety reasons."

"Safety reasons?" Kara asks.

Skye nods her head, "A lot of Inhuman abilities are tied to emotions, like mine for example. Each Inhuman bunk has a dampener in it, so the abilities don't spread out to the rest of the base and cause any damage to people or equipment. All Inhumans are free to be in the main part of the base at any point during the day when they aren't training. But at night, they sleep in this area, to keep themselves and everyone else safe."

"Once I learn how to control my abilities," Grant speaks up, "do I have to stay here? Or can I leave?"

Skye stops in the hallway and turns to face him, "That's entirely up to you. We don't force anyone to stay here if they don't want to. Our main goal is to help any Inhuman that crosses our path to help them adjust to having abilities and then learn how to control those abilities. Most Inhumans do decide to stay here and be a part of my team. Only a handful have chosen to go back to their outside lives. But they're usually ones who have less harmful abilities. Once you learn how to control your abilities and use them, you'll be taken out into the field a few times. To see how you hold up in stressful situations with your abilities. When I feel you're able to handle your abilities, you're free to leave. Or you can stay here and be a part of the team. The decision is entirely up to you."

Grant nods his head, "Good to know. Now um, can I see where my bunk is?"

"Of course." She turns to face the other woman in the room, "Kara, if you go through the door right over there," she points to a door a few feet away from them down a side hallway, "someone will show you to your own bunk in the main part of the base."

"I won't be staying here?" She asks, furrowing her brows.

Skye shakes her head, "Sorry, no. Only Inhumans stay in this area. Safety reasons, like I said."

"Oh, right." She turns to look at Grant, "Come find me later when you're all settled in."

He nods his head, "Yeah, I will."

She gives him a small smile before turning towards the single door and walking towards it.

Once she's out the door, Skye looks at Grant, "Come on, your bunk is this way." She begins walking down the hallway towards the bunks. Grant follows after her.

"This is your bunk here," she tells him, stopping in front of single door in the wall. "You've got a bed, desk, dresser, and some shelves. You can personalize it or leave it how it is. Whatever you want."

"Great, thanks."

She gives him a tightlipped smile and a small nod of her head. "My bunk is at the end of the hall, so if you need anything, just knock."

"I will," he nods his head once with a small smile.

"Tomorrow at 8 meet me at the transitioning rooms. We'll start the transitioning process."

"8 am, got it."

"Alright, well, I'll leave you to get settled in. I have some things I need to take care of."

"Right, yeah. I'll just be in here," he gestures to his door. He grabs the door handle and twists it, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

When the door closes behind him, Skye lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

_This is definitely going to be interesting._

* * *

*Six months later*

"How did the mission go?" Coulson asks Skye as she steps through the side entrance door for the Inhuman wing.

"It went pretty well," she tells him. "We found the Inhuman, a freshman in college named Kyle. I think his powers might be some kind of telekinetic power."

Coulson nods his head. "And how did Ward do out in the field?"

"He actually did pretty well. I wasn't sure how he'd do, having to take orders from me in the field, but he managed. And he's actually the one that got Kyle to calm down so Marcus could cuff him so he wouldn't do anymore damage."

"Wow," Coulson says, impressed.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I said. I was trying to calm the kid down but he wasn't listening to me. He was freaking out because everything around him in his dorm room kept moving and floating. Then Ward stepping in and talked to Kyle, calmed him down. I honestly wasn't expecting it."

"So he did good then," Coulson states.

Skye nods her head, "Better than I thought he would. I guess I'll be taking him out into the field a lot more."

"Skye."

Turning her head, Skye sees Ward making his way towards her. "Ward."

"Kyle's in the transitioning room. Lincoln is in there with him."

"Great, thanks. And hey, good job out there, calming him down."

Ward shrugs, "I could relate." He looks at Coulson and gives a nod of his head in acknowledgement before walking past them and towards his bunk.

* * *

"Hey Ward," Skye calls out to him from the entryway of the kitchen. "I'm kind of bored out of my mind right now. Want to go spar for a little bit? Burn off some energy?"

He gives her a small smile from where he's sitting at the counter, reading a book, "Yeah, sure. Just let me go and change into something different and then I'll meet you down there."

"Awesome," Skye smiles, turning around and making her way towards the training rooms in the Inhuman wing.

When she leaves the room, Grant lets his smile grow slightly bigger. He slides his bookmark between the open pages and then closes the book, holding it in his hand as he stands from his stool. He drops his dishes into the sink before turning to make his way towards his bunk to change into something more comfortable for sparring.

When he gets down to the training rooms, he stops in the doorway to see Skye already warming herself up, throwing a few punches at a bag hanging from the ceiling.

"You've improved," he comments, leaning against the door frame.

Skye stops and looks at him, "May was my SO for a while."

"Ah," he nods his head in understanding. "Was she tough on you?"

"Tougher than you were," she tells him with a small smirk. "But then again, you've always had somewhat of a soft spot for me."

"That is true," he gives a small smile. "I won't deny that."

"Wasn't asking you to," she smiles back. "Now get over here. I want to spar, so let's spar."

He smiles and pushes off of the door frame, making his way towards Skye. "Are we allowed to use our abilities?" he asks her as he steps onto the mat.

She raises an eyebrow, "You're seriously asking me that?"

"What?"

"You do realize that if you use your abilities while we're sparring then my skin may very well get burned."

"Oh, yeah. So no abilities then?"

"No abilities," she repeats. "Straight up hand-to-hand. Just like the old days."

Grant sighs with a small smile, "Those were the days."

"Yeah. Except I kind of like how you're less of a robot now."

Grant chuckles, "I thought you forgot about that."

"I would never forget about that," she smiles playfully.

He sighs, "Well, I can't say I didn't miss it." He smiles at her.

She smiles back. "Alright," she says after a minute of silence between the two, "enough of this mushy stuff, time to spar."

Grant grins, "About time."

* * *

"I think you've lost your touch," Skye mocks Grant as they dance around each other on the mat.

"Hmm, I don't think I have," he replies.

He lunges forward, swinging his arm out to strike her in the face. Skye ducks under his arm, using his momentum to hit him on the back with her fist and send him stumbling forward.

"Nice dodge," he tells her, turning around to face her, breathing heavily.

"Thanks."

She rushes forward, turning slightly to the side and throwing her arm out to side strike him in the chest.

As soon as her fist connects with his chest, Grant grabs a hold of her fist, pinning her in place. Then he swings one of his legs under hers, pushing on her arm to send her onto her back.

Following through with the momentum, he falls as well. He hovers above her, using one arm over her sternum and the other over both of her legs to pin her down.

"Still think I've lost my touch?" He asks smugly, looking down at her.

Skye breathes heavily, "Alright, I guess you haven't lost your touch. Completely."

"Just admit it," he says. "I'm still as good at hand-to-hand as I was before."

She smiles and shrugs her shoulders as best as she can, "I guess so."

He smiles back, still breathing heavily, "And you've gotten a lot better since your first day."

"Thanks."

The two of them just remain where they are, breathing heavily. They just stare at each other, neither of them saying a thing.

After a moment, Grant slowly starts to lean down and Skye panics.

"I think I'm going to go shower now," she speaks up, causing Grant to freeze and close his eyes, mentally chastising himself.

"Right," he moves away, sitting back on his feet. "Good session," he tells her as she stands up.

"Yeah, you too." She turns and quickly makes her way towards the locker rooms to shower.

Grant lets out a deep sigh when Skye is out of the room.  _Stupid_.

* * *

"I know you have feelings for him."

Looking up from her laptop, spoon from her cereal still in her mouth, Skye sees Kara standing in front of her, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Skye swallows her breakfast and removes the spoon from her mouth. "Excuse me, what?"

"Grant, I know you have feelings for him."

"Whoa, I do not have feelings for Ward. Not anymore. That stuff is all in the past. Besides, he already has a girlfriend."

"He does?" Kara tilts her head.

"Um, yeah. Aren't the two of you…together?"

Kara looks down and lets out a small, quiet laugh. She looks back up at Skye, "No, we aren't together. We tried once, not too long after I saved him, but uh, it didn't work out. After a little while, we both realized we didn't feel that way about each other."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Kara smiles. "We're still good friends."

"Well I'm glad," Skye says.

"Thanks. But back to what I came over here to say. I know you have feelings for him. And I know he has feelings for you."

"That's crazy," Skye tells her. "There's no way we have feelings for each other. I haven't had feelings for him since he turned on the team, and he hasn't had feelings for me since I shot him four times."

"You may think that, but I know the truth. I've seen it."

"Seen what?"

"How you look at each other when you think the other isn't looking. And you didn't notice me, but I saw you guys sparring the other day. If that wasn't flirting and sexual tension, then I don't know what is."

Knowing the heat is rushing to her cheeks, Skye immediately ducks her head. "Well uh," she looks back up at Kara, "nothing's going to happen there."

"That's a shame," Kara says. "I have a feeling I know why you won't let anything happen between you two. But you should know that you shouldn't let what happened so far in the past affect your future. The past is in the past. Move on, move past it. I know Grant pretty much has, or he wouldn't have stuck around this long. Just figure out what you want, and don't string him along." With that final thought, Kara turns and makes her way out of the room, back to her bunk, leaving Skye to her thoughts.

* * *

"I can't believe you actually pulled a stunt like that," Skye says to Grant as they make their way through the side door into the Inhuman wing.

"Oh relax," Grant replies. "It's not like anyone got hurt."

She spins around to face him, "That's not the point! You can't just go using your abilities so freely like that. You have to be aware of what and who's around you. Were you even thinking when you did that?"

"Honestly? I was thinking that there were people who needed saving. Isn't that what we're supposed to do? Save people?"

"Of course that's what we're supposed to do, but not at the risk of someone else getting hurt. You need to realize that even though most people appreciate our kind helping them, there are still people who think we're abominations. That we shouldn't exist. So if we make even the tiniest mistake, it gives them ground to try and hunt us down and kill us."

"And we'll stop them if they ever try to."

Skye sighs, "You aren't getting it." She steps towards him, "They will hunt down all of us, even if just  _one_  of us makes the mistake. But the one who makes the mistake, they'll get it the worst. Because they're the one who injured an innocent person, even if it was by accident."

"Then I'll be more careful," he promises. "I won't let anyone who wants to hurt Inhumans get to any of you. I can't lose what is starting to finally feel like a family to me."

"Good," Skye nods her head once. "And I think some of the others would be pretty upset if they lost you too. You know, because you've kind of grown on some of them," she gives him the tiniest hint of a smile.

He gives her a small back, "Well none of them have to worry. Because I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon."

"Good, that's good." The two of them just stand there silently, staring at one another; neither of them knows what to say next. "Oh, screw it," Skye mutters after a minute, stepping forward the rest of the way to Grant. She reaches up with one hand to grab the collar of his shirt, pulling him down to connect their lips together fiercely.

After a quick moment of being startled, Grant responds to the kiss, resting his hands on her hips and kissing her back with just as much fervor.

When they break from the kiss, Grant looks at Skye, "What was that for?"

"I realized," she begins, "that as much as I hate you for what you did to all of us, I can't help but love you. I'm probably crazy for it, but I can't help it. I love you, Grant Ward, and I'm willing to forget about the past if you are."

He shakes his head, "Let's not forget."

"What?" she furrows her brows.

"Let's not forget," he repeats. "Let's use what happened in the past to better ourselves as individuals and together. Let's rise above our past, be better than we were back then."

She smiles, "I like the sound of that."

"Me too," he smiles. "And Skye?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you too."

* * *

*Three months later*

"Babe," Skye says through her comm., "you in position?"

"Yes I am," Grant replies from his spot perched atop a large building. "No sign of him yet."

"Well keep your eyes peeled, this guy is supposed to be really hostile."

"I know, I read the report."

"Right, sorry. Sometimes I—hang on. I think I see him."

"Where?"

"Two o'clock from your position. Guy in the jean jacket sitting on the bench. See him?"

"Yeah, I see him."

"I'm moving in," Skye tells him as she slowly starts walking towards the target.

"Be careful," Grant tells her.

"I've got you watching my back," she says with a smile.

He smiles back, "Yes you do."

Skye slowly and stealthily moves across the courtyard, ducking and dodging through the people as she tries to keep her eyes on the target. "He's just looking around," Skye informs Grant. "Probably looking for his contact."

"Another Inhuman?" Grant asks.

Skye shakes her head, "I don't know. But if this Inhuman has a contact, then it's probably for nothing good."

"Need me to join you?" he asks her.

"Not yet. Stay up there, see if you can catch sight of the contact."

"You got it, boss," he replies, giving a mock salute even though she can't see him.

"I know you're giving me a mock salute," she says.

"But you can't even see me."

"But I know you. And I'm dating you."

"True, true. Hey, I think I might have eyes on the contact."

"Where?"

"Over by the water fountain. Long trench coat, fedora."

"Why do the contacts always dress like contacts and act all suspicious?" Skye asks as she makes her way towards the fountain. "It just makes it easier for us to pick them out in a crowd."

"I don't know," Grant replies. "But thank goodness they do. I'm coming down now."

"Okay. I'll take trench coat guy, you take jean jacket."

"Got it."

As she moves swiftly through the crowd, Skye keeps her eyes on the contact. She watches as his eyes shift around quickly, watching the people around him. When his eyes lock with hers, she freezes. The man's glare hardens and then he takes off at a run through the large courtyard.

"He's running," Skye tells Grant through her comm.

"I'm coming to meet you," he says back. "This guy isn't Inhuman. He's harmless."

"That means this other guy may be Inhuman," Skye says in realization.

"Be careful," Grant says. "If he really is Inhuman, we don't know what his abilities are."

"Yeah, I know. You on your way?"

"Right behind you."

Turning her head slightly to look over her shoulder, Skye sees Grant quickly gaining on her. When he gets next to her, she smiles slightly, "Nice of you to join me."

He smiles back, "Pleasure is all mine. Should we go find this psychopath?" He quickly jerks his hand down towards the ground, a flame soon engulfing his hand and lower arm, a red hot chain appearing in his closed fist.

Skye smiles back, "Of course we should."

* * *

"How did the mission go today?" One of their fellow Inhumans, Kenny, asks them as they make their way into the lounge.

"Not as well as we were hoping," Skye says as she falls down onto the couch, grabbing her laptop off of the coffee table in front of her. "The guy almost killed a bunch of people. We had to take him out, he was way too unstable."

"That sucks," Kenny replies.

Grant shrugs, sitting down next to Skye and tossing his arm around her shoulders, "It happens sometimes. You can't win them all."

"It'd be nice if we could though," she replies.

"Yes it would be," he says back, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

"Ugh," Kenny scrunches his face up. "Do you really have to do that?"

"What?" Grant asks him. "It was nothing."

"It may have been nothing, but knowing you two, if I wasn't here, that nothing would have turned into something."

Grant chuckles, "Well sorry if I disgusted you by kissing my girlfriend on the top of her head."

"Thank you," Kenny nods his head curtly, sitting back into the couch. "So Skye," he speaks up again after a minute. "Did you get to go all Quake on the guy?"

"Yeah, I did," Skye replies, not looking up from her computer.

"Sweet," Kenny smiles. He looks at Grant, "Dude, we still need to find you a codename."

"I don't need a codename," Grant deadpans.

"Don't be ridiculous, everyone needs a codename. Otherwise the whole world will know your name when you're out in the field if there's ever anyone nearby. And you and Skye are out in the field a lot together. You guys are the perfect team, and only one of you has a codename. That just isn't right."

"I think Skye and I do just fine without me having a codename."

"True, but not all of us can call you 'babe' or 'honey' when we're with you in the field. Especially not me."

"He's got a point, babe," Skye says to Grant, briefly looking up at him from her computer.

Grant sighs, "Okay then. Kenny, what do you think my codename should be?"

Kenny thinks for a moment. "Fire Man?" he suggests. "Wait, no. That's awful. Fire Guy? No, even worse. Man Who Holds Fire In His Palm. That sounds horrible and it's too long. Maybe if we—"

"Hellfire," Skye interrupts Kenny.

"What?" Grant asks, turning his head towards her.

"Hellfire," she repeats. "That's what the Internet is calling you."

"The Internet?"

She nods her head, "Yeah, you're everywhere. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, everywhere. No one has a real clear shot of your face, so that's a good thing, but you're there. And people are starting to talk. There are a lot of people talking about who you are, and what you're called. There are a few different name choices, but the most popular one is Hellfire."

"Wow," Grant says in disbelief. "That's crazy."

"Yeah, that's how I felt the first time. The Internet also bestowed the name Quake upon me. There wasn't much discussion among them about them."

"Is that how everyone here got their codenames?" Grant asks. "From random people on the Internet?"

"Most of us," Kenny replies. "There's a handful of Inhumans here that don't go out into the field, so their codenames aren't as cool."

"Oh, okay."

"So what do you think, babe?" Skye asks him.

"What do I think about what?"

"About being famous all over the Internet."

"I don't know," Grant says. "Let me see that," he gestures to her computer. Skye happily hands it over to him and he sets it in his lap, starting to scroll through the different posts. There are pictures, videos, theories, even drawings, of him. He notices how most of the pictures and videos are from the mission that day, when they were chasing down the Inhuman. Most of the shots are from behind, far away, and somewhat grainy. But they're clear enough to see the glowing chain of fire being held in his right hand as he stands next to Skye. One video shows him whipping out his chain as Skye uses her abilities to knock the man to the ground. One post talks about how Quake and Hellfire make the ultimate team, working together seamlessly.

When he finishes, he looks up at Skye, "This is crazy."

"I know," she smiles. "So, how do you feel about Hellfire being your codename? I mean, after all, you did say it felt like hell when you first had your abilities. So it only makes sense."

"It only makes sense," Grant repeats. "And as for Hellfire being my codename, I kinda like it," he smiles.

Skye smiles even bigger, "Awesome. You have a codename, now you're officially part of the team."

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"Welcome, officially, to the club, Hellfire."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below.
> 
> I know there wasn't much action of them as Quake and Hellfire, but I guess this is where my muse took me for this prompt.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	10. Darkness And Demons Within

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They no longer fight the darkness and demons within themselves, they embrace it, let it overtake them, until it completely consumes them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Glad you all enjoyed the last one-shot, with Skyeward as Quake and Hellfire and kicking butt together. Here's another one with them kicking butt together, but not for the good of humanity. The prompt for today was: Dark!Skyeward. So that's what this one is.  
> In all honesty, I'd be perfectly fine with Skyeward going to the dark side together on the show. I think it'd make things so interesting, and there are lots of things they could do. If they did it right.
> 
> Just a fair warning, there is mentions of violence and then descriptions of some wounds and things after being tortured. Just so you're aware of it.
> 
> And now, the story. Enjoy!

"Sir, there's been a breach," Agent Jones says to Coulson, rushing into his office.

"Where's it coming from?" Coulson asks.

"South side of the building."

"The bunks," Coulson says in realization. He quickly stands up from his chair, moving towards the door. "How long ago did you notice the breach?" he asks the young tech agent.

"Just now," Jones replies. "But the breach happened about ten minutes ago."

Coulson stops short in the hallway, turning to face the agent, "So someone breached our security and has been in this building for ten minutes and you just now noticed it?"

Jones swallows nervously, "Um, yes?"

Coulson huffs and then marches towards the area holding the agents' bunks, leaving Jones behind. When he gets closer, May is already waiting for him.

"What do we know?" he asks her as she falls into step beside him.

"Not much. Just that there was a breach in the security ten minutes ago. Everything was down for half a minute before being rebooted without our knowing. Motion detectors by the doors haven't detected anyone leaving. So whoever got in is still inside."

"Agent May, you just earned SHIELD ten points for being correct."

Coulson and May both stop in their tracks and turn to see Ward standing in the hallway, leaning up against one of the walls.

"Sorry," he says as he pushes off the wall and stands straight, "she made me watch the first two  _Harry Potter_  movies the other day. Not gonna lie, they were pretty good. Those Slytherin guys are actually pretty cool."

"Ward," May seethes. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Just gathering up some things," he replies nonchalantly with a shrug. "I hope you guys don't mind. And technically, we aren't stealing anything. Because everything we're taking already belongs to her."

"Who?" Coulson asks. "Who's stuff are you here getting?"

"My stuff," Skye replies, stepping out of one of the rooms with a bag swung over one shoulder. "I remembered the other day that I had a bunch of stuff still here and I wanted it again. So here we are."

"Skye, get away from him," May commands, one hand resting on the gun in her holster.

"Um, no," Skye replies, stepping closer to Ward's side.

" _Now_ , Skye. He's a murderer; you need to get away from him."

Skye frowns, "I really don't like your tone, May." She looks at Ward, "Grant, she called you a murderer."

"Yes she did," Ward replies with a heavy sigh.

"I don't like that," Skye says.

"I know you don't, babe," Ward replies.

"What is even happening here?" Coulson shouts, trying his hardest to make sense of what is going on.

"You don't know?" Skye tilts her head. "Let me explain it to you," she looks at him straight, "Grant and I are together now and we're very happy. Oh, and we're also bad guys." She gives a small smirk.

"Why?" Coulson looks at her sadly. "Why are you doing this?"

Skye shrugs, "Because it's fun."

"It's fun?" May scoffs.

Skye nods her head, "Mm-hmm. Being bad and hurting people is definitely way more fun than being good and helping people. Isn't that right?" She smiles at Ward.

He smiles back at her, "Such a rush."

"And really," Skye starts, looking back at Coulson and May, "I have the both of you to thank for this."

"Us?" May furrows her brows. "How are we responsible for this?"

"Remember that undercover operation you sent me on almost a year ago?"

"Of course," Coulson replies. "After four months we stopped receiving messages from you."

"That's because I moved up in their ranks, so to speak. I went way deeper undercover than I ever thought I'd go within just three months of being there. I tried to keep in touch, honest, but they were keeping such a close eye on me, I had to cut all ties with the outside world. So I stopped talking to you guys and kept my cover up. And let me tell you, I had to do some pretty horrible things to keep my cover. Well, at the time I thought they were horrible. But being a good little SHIELD agent like I was, I didn't want to blow my cover before I found what I needed in order to come back, so I did what they asked me to do. And the best part, I actually started to enjoy myself," she smiles at them.

"If you were so deep undercover, how did you two meet?" May asks, gesturing to Ward.

"That's probably the best part of this whole thing," Ward says with a smile. "The group Skye was infiltrating was actually in the same area I was at one point while she was deep undercover. I was a little confused when I saw Skye torturing this one guy information. I'd never seen anything like it before. She was such a natural at it, though. Then after exchanging a few words, Skye and I decided to team up, so to speak. So she left the people she'd been working with and we began doing our own thing."

"That was a really great day," Skye smiles. "Although, the kid gave up pretty easily, so I didn't get to torture him as much as I would have liked. I left some cuts and bruises and some pretty nasty gashes, but I didn't even get to do the whole 'earthquake in your body' thing to him. That's always my favorite part."

"I love watching you when you do that," Grant smiles. "You get so into it."

"Skye," Coulson speaks up, "what happened to you?"

"Nothing  _happened_  to me. Not really. I just embraced the bad. I guess I sort of always knew it was there, but I pushed it down to be a part of your organization. But after being undercover and doing a number of things that I will not repeat, I realized what I actually wanted to do with my life. Make people suffer. It's probably the greatest feeling out there."

"This is crazy," Coulson tells her. "I refuse to believe you're evil."

"Oh, I'm not evil," Skye tells him. "Not really. I just really enjoying breaking the rules and hurting people. We both do," she looks up at Ward and smiles.

"Yes we do," he smiles back down at her and then leans down to press his lips quickly to hers. He stands up straight and takes a deep breath, looking at Coulson and May, "Well, we hate to leave you like this, we really do, but we have a few things we need to do today."

Skye grabs Ward's hand in her own, "Yeah, we have some trouble to cause, things to destroy. And it's going to be a lot of fun." The two of them turn and begin to make their way down the hallway.

"Skye, wait," Coulson calls out, causing them to stop and turn.

"What?"

"You don't have to go with him. You can come back here, come home."

"Grant is my home now," Skye tells Coulson. "I don't  _have_ to go with him, but I  _want_  to."

"Skye…"

"Save it," she snaps. "I no longer work for SHIELD. Consider this my resignation. Grant and I are going into the Independent Contractor business," she smirks. She turns back around and she and Grant continue their way down the hallway, leaving Coulson and May standing in their places, shock and disbelief written on their faces.

* * *

*Four months later*

"Does anyone have eyes on them?" Bobbi asks into her comm.

" _Negative,"_  Hunter replies.

" _Nothing here,"_  Kara says.

" _Just some civilians over here,"_  Mack answers.

"Well keep your eyes peeled," Bobbi tells her team. "And remember, if you see them, do not engage. I repeat, do not engage. They're extremely dangerous. You alert the rest of the team and wait for us to all rendezvous."

" _Copy that,"_  Kara replies.

" _Understood,"_  Mack says.

" _You got it, sweetheart,"_  Hunter says.

Bobbi rolls her eyes at the nickname but continues down the dark alleyway, her gun held out in front of her.

A second later, a young girl whizzes past her, not stopping for a second.

She watches the young woman run before a voice from the other end of the alley makes her freeze.

"You can run all you want! But we'll find you and then we'll kill you!"

Slowly raising her hand to her comm., she speaks, "I think found one of them."

" _Where are you at?"_ Hunter asks her.

"In an alley on the south side of the city. I don't know if they're both here, but I think he might be."

" _Alright,"_ Hunter replies.  _"I'm on my way to meet up with Mack and Kara. We'll come join you over there."_

"Okay, but be careful. She might be lurking somewhere nearby, so watch your backs."

" _Copy that."_

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Bobbi presses herself further into the brick wall so she can't be seen. As she waits for her three teammates to show up, she listens to the conversation that starts happening near her.

* * *

"Did you seriously let her get away?" Skye asks Grant as she walks up to him, gun in her hand.

"Obviously I didn't intend for that to happen," he says back, turning to face her.

"Well it did. And now we actually have to go and find her."

"It's not like we didn't have to find her in the first place," he says.

"Yes, but the first time we found her, we didn't actually have to find her. We just had to go into a building and kill her. But you," she pokes him in the chest, "you let her get away. And now we have to go track her down and kill her."

"But at least we still get to kill her," Grant smiles.

Skye smiles back, "Yeah we do." She drops her smile, "But I'm still mad at you."

"I know you are," he continues smiling. He dips his head and presses his lips to hers.

Skye smiles into the kiss and then pulls back. "Can we go find the girl now?" she asks. "You told me I'd get to kill someone today for my engagement gift."

Grant smiles down at her and lifts her left hand so her engagement ring sparkles in the moonlight. He presses a single kiss to her hand and then looks at her, "I did promise you that. And I always keep my promises. Especially when it comes to killing."

Skye grins, "Yay." She grabs his hand in hers and then drags him down the alley in search of the young girl.

* * *

Bobbi freezes as Grant and Skye rush past her, her breathing stopping as well in hopes they don't find her. She waits until they are far enough away and then steps away from the brick wall, watching as they run.

"Bob!" She hears Hunter whisper yell.

She turns around and speaks at regular volume, "I'm over here." She begins walking towards him. "What took you guys so long?"

"Sorry," Mack says. "Someone got us turned around," he looks pointedly at Hunter.

"I swear we were going south," Hunter says back.

"Sure we were."

"We were!"

"Enough!" Bobbi exclaims, catching their attention. All three turn to look at her. "They're gone."

"What do you mean they're gone?" Kara asks.

"I mean they're gone. They ran right past me."

"Why didn't you stop them?"

"They were looking for a girl so they could kill her. Do you really think I wanted to stand in their way and possibly get killed myself?"

"And now that innocent girl is going to get killed."

"I know," Bobbi bites. Then she sighs, "But we can't save her now. After they kill her, they'll probably go underground again. We'll just have to wait for them to resurface and then track them."

"Then I guess that means we're heading back?" Mack asks.

Bobbi nods her head, "Yeah, we are."

"Alright," Hunter says. "I'll give base a heads up." He and the others turn and begin making their way back to the quinjet. Bobbi just sighs and then holsters her gun, following behind the others.

* * *

"I can't believe this day is actually here," Skye says to Grant as they make their way down the streets of a large town.

"Neither can I," Grant smiles. "Which shop should we go to first? Dress or rings?"

"Hmm," Skye thinks, "well could always go to the dress shop first, but then we'd have to lug the thing with us to get the rings."

"True. Plus, I'm just dying to see our friends from the jewelry store. Think they'll give us another discount?"

Skye grins and holds her gun, "I think I can probably persuade them."

Grant wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her close. "You are so hot when you threaten people," he says huskily into her ear.

She giggles and ducks her head. She looks up at him through her eyelashes, "You ready to go find us some wedding rings?"

He smiles, "Of course I am."

* * *

Kicking the doors of the church wide open, Grant enters the chapel, gun held out in front of him. "Okay, listen up everyone," he interrupts the wedding currently going on. Everyone turns to face him, fear immediately crossing onto their faces at seeing a gun. He begins walking down the aisle towards where the priest stands. "Congratulations on your wedding," he says to the couple standing in front of him. "You know what's funny? I'm getting married today too. By your priest at this exact same time. What a coincidence."

"Sir, I'm afraid you're going to have to—"

Grant quickly turns the gun on him, "I don't think I was talking to." He takes a deep breath, "Here's what's going to happen. You two," he gestures to the man and woman in front of him, "are going to go and join your family and friends down there," he gestures to the pews. "Then you," he looks at the priest, "are going to marry me and my lovely fiancé. She's waiting out in the hallway so she can make her grand entrance. You know how women are," he chuckles. "But, she's the love of my life, and I just want to make her happy. But we're going to skip over all that introduction stuff and get straight to the marrying. We're not very patient people. And I want you," he looks over at the guy at the organ, "to play something for my lady to walk in to. None of that traditional garbage. Play something different, something fun." He smiles. "Oh," he spins around to face the crowd, "and none of you are to call the police. Because believe me when I say that we will not hesitate to kill you if you call the police."

Everyone in the room stays quiet, fear and worry on their faces. Some of the women in the pews are sitting close to their significant others, tears of fear in their eyes.

"Um, now," Grant says, frustrated slightly. "Don't make me use this," he waves his gun.

Everyone panics, jumping into action. Fearfully, the bride and groom make their way to the pews, sitting next to each other, their hands clasped together tightly.

"Are you ready?" he asks, looking over the organist.

The man silently nods his head.

Grant smiles, "Excellent." He moves over to where the priest is and fixes his suit coat. He takes a deep breath, "Time to get hitched."

* * *

"Alright," the priest says shakily, "I'm going to need your names for the ceremony."

Grant shakes his head, "No, I don't think you do."

"But um, the ceremony, I have to—"

Grant sighs, cocks his gun and holds it in the man's face, "I said you don't need our names."

The man jumps and swallows nervously, "Right, of course. So um, d-do you have your own vows you'd like to say?"

Grant lowers the gun slightly and looks at Skye, "I'm sure we can think of something. What do you think, babe?"

She smiles, "I might have some things I want to say."

He smiles back, "Great then. I think I'll start." He takes a deep breath, "Babe, I love you. A whole lot. When I found you that day, and you'd killed that guy, I don't know, I just thought you were even more amazing than I ever thought you were. You stole my heart, babe, and I don't think I want it back. I love being with you and I love killing and stealing with you. It's the best. Now we're going to be husband and wife and I never thought that could be better than killing, but I think it might be. But only because I'm doing it with you."

"Aw, babe," Skye smiles. "I love killing with you too. It's fun. I never thought killing and stealing and being bad could give me such a rush, but it does. Especially when I'm with you. You are so hot when you get all growly when people don't cooperate. I can't wait to be your wife so we can kill and steal as a married couple. It'll be so much more satisfying, I think."

Grant looks over at the priest, "Okay, you can continue now."

"Alright, um, do you have your rings?"

"Right here," Grant digs into his pocket and pulls out the two rings they lifted from the jewelry store. He hands one over to Skye, keeping one for himself.

"Okay, um," he looks at Grant, "if you'd place the ring onto her finger and repeat these words, 'With this ring, I thee wed'."

Grant smiles and grabs Skye's left hand in his, sliding the ring onto her finger, "With this ring, I thee wed."

The priest looks over at Skye, "And then if you would please do the same."

Skye smiles, taking Grant's left hand and sliding the ring onto his finger, "With this ring, I thee wed."

"Wi-with the power vested in me, I—I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

"About time," Grant smiles, reaching out to grab Skye's waist and pull her towards him. He dips his head and connects their lips together hungrily and passionately.

When they pull away, they're both grinning and breathing heavily. Grant moves his hand down to grab Skye's hand in his, linking their fingers together. He looks up at the priest, "Thank you very much for your cooperation. Because of that, I will not be killing you, so you get to live to see another day."

"But Grant," Skye says, "maybe I want to kill him."

"We'll go kill someone else, babe. For our honeymoon we'll pick a place and go on a killing spree, how does that sound?"

Skye smiles, "Sounds like a good time to me."

"I'm glad you think so," he smiles. He leans down and presses a quick kiss to her lips before they turn to face the crowd in front of them. "Thank you," he says to them, "all of you, for coming to our wedding. It really means a lot to us that you all could be here to witness this great milestone in our lives. But now, I'm afraid we have to leave. There will be no reception, so none of you have to worry about getting us a gift or anything." The step down and begin making their way down the aisle, towards the front doors of the chapel. "Again, thank you all for coming out, it really made our wedding beautiful."

"Oh," Skye speaks up, "and don't try to follow us or call the cops on us, because you will surely live to regret it. Maybe a little preview of what might happen will help you make the right decision." She smirks and holds one hand up in front of her, narrowing her eyes in concentration.

Suddenly, the priest lets out a scream of pain. "What-what are you doing?" he asks, falling to his knees.

"That," Grant answers, "is your insides vibrating so fast that if my lovely new wife here doesn't stop, you're insides will explode, essentially killing you."

"You—you've got the power of the devil in you."

"No," Skye drops her hand. "It's the power of an Inhuman."

* * *

"Agent Morse!"

"Agent Jones, what is it?"

"It's—it's  _them_."

Bobbi stiffens and panics slightly before she regains her composure, "Where?"

"Our base in Hong Kong found them. They were running a rampage through the city, destroying things and killing people. They said that she was wearing a wedding dress."

Bobbi thinks for a moment and then sighs, "They must have gotten married. When I saw them in that alleyway a few weeks ago, they mentioned something about an engagement."

"How did they get to Hong Kong?" Jones asks. "Didn't we put them on basically every watch list out there?"

Bobbi sighs, "Yeah, we did. But before Skye went rogue, she joined SHIELD simply as a Computer Specialist. And before she was a part of SHIELD, she was a very skilled hacker. She must have gotten in and changed everything."

"So there'd be no use in putting them on any other watch lists?"

Bobbi shakes her head, "No. Did the team in Hong Kong say whether or not they moved in on them?"

Jones nods his head, "They didn't know who it was at first, so they sent a few agents in. But they didn't survive."

"Damn it," Bobbi mutters under her breath.

"What do we do?"

"There's not much we can do," Bobbi tells him. "When he was in the Academy, the instructors said that Ward was almost as good as Romanoff. And Skye, well, she's an Inhuman; she can feel vibrations all around her and manipulate them however she wants to. And he's probably been working with her on hand-to-hand. Those two are a pretty dangerous combination."

"So are we just going to sit back and let them kill more innocent people?"

"As much as I don't want that to happen, we really don't have much of a choice at this point. Before we can do anything, we have to figure out how to stop them. Our usual tactics might not work on them, so we have to figure out what  _will_  work."

"Should I get the team started on figuring out how to stop them?"

Bobbi nods her head, "That would be best, yes."

Jones nods his head once and then makes his way down the hallway to find the few people he needs to talk with.

Bobbi just stands in the hallway and lets out a deep sigh before making her way down the hallway to the gym.

* * *

"Every single one of you needs to be focused and alert while in there," Bobbi says to the group of agents in front of her. "It's more than likely that they don't know we're here, which means we have the upper hand for this one. Mack and Kara, you two go in through the back. Adams and Martin, you two go through the door on the East side of the building. Hunter, you're with me through the front of the building. Keep your comm. on at all times, but only talk if it's absolutely necessary. We want to try and keep the element of surprise for as long as possible."

"What do we do if we find them?" Agent Martin asks.

"Stay where you're at," Bobbi tells him. She looks around at each of the agents in front of her, "If anyone of you finds them, do not move in on them. This is their place so we don't know what kinds of advantages they have lying around. If you find them, you stay where you are, let the rest of us know, and then we'll all meet together. Now, is everyone clear on the plan?"

They all nod their heads in understanding.

Bobbi nods her head once and takes a deep breath, "Alright, let's do this."

"Any sign of them?" Bobbi asks into her comm.

" _Nothing over here,"_  Adams replies.  _"Just a bunch of really weird crap."_

"Mack, Kara, what about you?"

" _We've got no sign of life over here,"_  Mack tells her.  _"We're gonna keep moving inwards."_

"Copy that," Bobbi says.

"Do you really think we can stop them?" Hunter asks from besides Bobbi.

"Honestly? I don't know. But I'm hoping we'll come pretty close."

"Do you actually want to kill them?"

Bobbi sighs and then stops to look at him, "Are we really having this conversation? It doesn't matter what I want. What matters is that we stop these maniacs from killing more innocent people."

"It's just a question, Bob. I just don't want you to do something you'll regret. I know you and Skye were starting to get close before she was sent undercover."

"Yeah, well, none of that matters right now," she turns around and continues to make her way down the hallway.

"Well it should matter somewhat," Hunter says, following behind her. "Because despite everything you say, I know that you—"

"Know that I what?" Bobbi asks, peering around a corner. She sighs and turns around, "Are you seriously going to—Hunter?" She sees his body lying on the ground a few feet in front of her. She slowly makes her way over and kneels down next to it. She reaches out to his neck and checks for a pulse; he still has one. She lets out a sigh of relief and then stands back up.

Hearing movement behind her, she quickly turns around and then freezes when she sees Grant's grinning face in front of her.

"Surprise," he says and then reaches up to hit her on the head with the butt of his gun.

Everything goes black.

* * *

"When is she going to wake up?" Skye asks Grant as they stand together in front of Bobbi, waiting for her to regain consciousness.

"I don't know, babe," Grant replies.

"Well how hard did you hit her?"

"I don't know. Hard enough to knock her unconscious."

"Yes, I can see that."

"Did you take care of the others?" he asks her.

"Most of them," she replies. He raises an eyebrow. "Mack is really heavy," she shrugs. "The others were no problem; I moved them into the closet near the front door. But Mack, well, I dragged him as best as I could, but he's just too heavy. So I broke one of his legs which will slow him down a lot if he tries to come find Bobbi."

"Why didn't you break both of his legs?"

She lets out a small laugh, "I wanted him to believe he'd actually have a chance of getting to Bobbi if he wakes up."

He smiles down at her. "I love you," he growls.

"I love you too," she smiles.

"Mmmm…"

Both Grant and Skye turn to face Bobbi as she slowly starts to wake up.

"There she is," Grant speaks up, smiling when Bobbi's eyes fully open and she looks up.

"Wh-where am I? What did you do to me?" She tries to move out of her chair, only to be restricted by thick rope tied around her wrists and ankles, binding her to the chair.

"Oh, well, I knocked you out," Grant says. "Skye wanted to be the one to do it, but she's a little vertically challenged, and I'm not. So she went and incapacitated all of your friends and hid them in a closet. Except for Mack, but he's still incapacitated."

"If you killed the—"

"Relax," Skye rolls her eyes. "I didn't kill them. Even though it would have been so much more satisfying. But I remembered that we're not here to kill you guys, unfortunately." She slowly strides towards Bobbi, stopping when she's standing directly in front of her.

"What do you want?" Bobbi asks, continuing to pull at her restraints.

"Don't struggle," Skye says.

"You better listen to her," Grant says from where he's leaning back against a metal table, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "We said we aren't going to kill you. Doesn't mean we won't hurt you."

"You always let her take the lead?" Bobbi asks.

"Most of the time, yeah," Grant nods his head. "Because she is amazing at what she does. And really hot when she starts threatening and torturing people. It's kind of a turn on."

"Aww, babe," Skye smiles back at him.

"Only for you," he smiles back.

"You two are sick, you know that?"

Skye turns back to her, "Yeah, we've heard that one a few times. But back to before, what we want." She steps forward and leans down, placing her hands on the arm rests, her face inches away from Bobbi's, "We have a little message we want you to give to Coulson. Stop. Trying. To. Kill. Us."

"And why would we do that? You murder innocent people."

"We're just trying to have some fun," Skye says, standing up straight. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Yeah, there's a lot wrong with that."

"Hmm," Skye tilts her head. She looks back at Grant, "Grant, is there anything wrong with wanting to have a little fun?"

He shakes his head, "No, babe, there isn't."

Skye looks back at Bobbi, "Didn't think so." She leans down again, "So, you gonna give Coulson our message?"

Bobbi tightens her jaw, not saying a word.

"You better answer her," Grant drawls out.

Bobbi tightens her jaw more, staring straight into Skye's eyes. Then she shoots her head forward, knocking it into Skye's forehead, causing her to stumble backwards.

Grant immediately jumps up from his seat, rushing towards Skye. He places one hand on her lower back, bending his head down towards her, "Are you okay?"

Skye holds one hand on her forehead, and places the other on Grant's shoulder, "Yeah, I'm fine." Once she recovers slightly, she steps towards Bobbi, shaking her head, "You see, you really shouldn't have done that. I wasn't going to hurt you, because I want you intact to tell Coulson my message, but now I'm going to have to hurt you." She reaches a hand up and backhands Bobbi across the face, the metal edges of her wrist cuff cutting into Bobbi's skin.

"Is that really the best you got?" Bobbi asks when she looks back at Skye.

Skye smirks, "Of course not." She holds her hand up in front of her and narrows her eyes, concentrating. Bobbi hunches forward as best she can, groaning in pain. Skye drops her hand, leaving Bobbi breathing heavily, tears in her eyes. Skye smirks again, "I'm just getting started."

* * *

"Medic!" Hunter shouts as he rushes into the base. "I need a medic! Quick!"

"What the hell happened?" May asks, approaching him and Bobbi.

"Ward and Skye."

May's jaw tightens. "Bring her in here, quickly," she gestures for Hunter to follow her into the medical room, making sure a bed is cleared. She turns to face one of the newer recruits in the room, "Go find Coulson. Now." The young agent nods their head and quickly makes their way out of the room. May turns back to find Hunter holding tightly onto Bobbi's hand, already having placed her on the bed.

"What happened?" Simmons asks as she approaches Bobbi, immediately going into doctor mode.

"Skye," Bobbi chokes out. "She and Ward—said…not…kill…"

"They told you not to kill them?" May asks.

Bobbi nods her head, immediately regretting it and closing her one good eye in pain.

"Did they say anything else?" May asks.

Bobbi's eye shoots open and she looks over at Hunter, "J-jo."

"Jo's fine," he assures her. "We left her with Fitz, remember?" Bobbi slowly and carefully nods her head again. "Bob, did they threaten Jo?"

Tears immediately spring to Bobbi's eyes, "I-I don't know how they knew. But they did."

"Agent Morse." All heads turn to see Coulson entering the room, quickly making his way to Bobbi's bedside. He looks up at Simmons, "What can you tell us?"

"There's a lot going on," Simmons replies. "She clearly has a very swollen eye, cuts on her lip and face, as well as the start to some bruising. There's a pretty big bump on the back of her head, I suspect she was struck with something."

"A gun," Bobbi says.

Simmons nods her head, "That makes sense. There are also some pretty length lacerations on her torso, arms and legs, some deeper than others that will most likely leave scars when they heal over. There are some pretty serious rope burns on her wrist and ankles. I don't know if there's any damage inside, and if there is, how much, until I do a further examination."

"Her powers," Bobbi speaks up. "She used her powers on me, a lot."

"There may be some ruptures then," Simmons says sadly. "I'll need to get her into a scan in order to know for sure and then possibly surgery."

Coulson nods his head, "We'll let you get on that." He looks down at Bobbi, "I understand if you want off the task force, this kind of traumatic experience makes you reevaluate things. I'll have you—"

"No," Bobbi shakes her head. "I want to remain on the task force. I'm going to stop The Wards if it's the last thing I do."

* * *

**THE WARDS ARE DEAD**

_**Late last night, the notorious villains known as The Wards, were killed in a massive shootout.** _

_**For the last three decades, Grant Ward and his wife Skye have traveled all across the globe, torturing and killing anyone they wanted to, and wreaking havoc everywhere they went. Destruction and despair was always left behind in every city or town they went through.** _

_**For thirty years, these two have struck fear in every person they came across and let survive. Though not many survived, those who did lived everyday with the fear that The Wards would one day come back for them or their families.** _

_**One early survivor of The Wards, a priest who has asked for his name to be left out, has chosen to come forward and speak with us. "They forced me to marry them," he says regrettably. "I didn't know who they were when I saw them, their names and faces hadn't been released yet. I was already in the middle of another ceremony when the man barged in and forced me to marry him and his wife, well she was his fiancée at the time. He held a gun on me. I was terrified for my life, as well as the lives of everyone else in the room. And she—she made my insides almost explode. Those two were the devil walking, and I say good riddance they are no longer walking the earth."** _

_**No one else who has survived attacks from The Wards has wanted to step forward and talk about their experiences, out of fear, despite The Wards now being pronounced dead.** _

_**Over the years, The Wards gained quite a following among the people. A large group of individuals began religiously following The Wards and everything they did, carrying out horrible acts in their name. It is unknown whether or not The Wards were ever actually in contact with their followers, though some claim to have come face-to-face with the killers and praised for their acts.** _

_**Despite carrying out many unspeakable actions, The Wards were never convicted for their crimes, due to never being able to be caught and held for any length of time. However, many of their followers have been found and convicted of numerous crimes.** _

_**Although they were hard, seemingly impossible, to capture, The Wards' reign of terror has finally come to an end. After thirty plus years of igniting fear and terror, they have been taken down. And it's all thanks to a brave group of people from the Independent International Organization known as SHIELD. The Director SHIELD Barbara Morse, who just so happens to be the one that ended the lives of The Wards, agreed to speak with us.** _

" _ **I'm not proud of what I've done," Director Morse tells us firmly. "I'm never proud of myself when I take someone's life, even if that person has done horrible things. Am I happy that they can no longer hurt anyone? Yes, of course. Am I happy that they're gone? I don't know. These people used to work for the very organization I lead today. But after some horrifying events, they chose to go down the path that they did. I wish it never happened, but we can't go back and change the past. I wish we could, because there are many things I wish I could change.**_

_**"These two in particular, I wish I could change many of the things that happened to them that lead them to where they ended up. They both come from troubled pasts and essentially, they let the darkness from their pasts over take them, and turn them into the monsters they became. I just wish I was able to help them. Am I sad that they're gone? Yes. Because they were people just like you and me. They just got dealt a bad hand, and instead of trying to change that, they let that bad hand define them and control them. I wish I could have saved them earlier.** _

_**"I came close to saving them once. I won't go into detail, but it was years and years ago. I thought I could save them back then, but I was wrong. By that point, they were beyond the point of being saved. They had already been so consumed by the darkness within themselves. There was no saving them after that.** _

_**"So we waited. We waited for the right moment to strike. Every time we thought we had them, they'd disappear; go underground for weeks, sometimes months, before resurfacing and killing again. It went on for years until just the other night when we finally got them.** _

_**"I didn't want to kill them; I have never wanted to kill them. But in the end, when it came down to it, I had to make a choice. And the choice I made was to end their lives. It's not a decision I'm proud of, but it's one I'll have to live with."** _

_**It's understandable from where Director Morse is coming from, she knew these people from their early days before they went dark. But as for the rest of the world, many of us are glad to finally be rid of these vile human beings.** _

_**The Wards took pleasure in killing, torturing, and destroying lives all over the globe. They did it for fun, not out of necessity. They killed thousands of people from all over the world, leaving hardly anyone still breathing when they were done.** _

_**And for the few who did survive, they lived every one of the next days out of fear. They were terrified for the lives of themselves and their families. Many of those scars, whether physical or emotional, will never heal.** _

_**Despite The Wards looking like a normal, happy couple on the outside, on the inside they were cruel, heartless and downright horrible people.** _

_**Even though the scars they left behind will never heal, the few who survived The Wards' reign, and their families, can all sleep better at night from now on. They can sleep better at night knowing that the two people who haunted their dreams every night are no longer on the Earth to torment them.** _

_**And although they were awful people, I hope that wherever they are, they are at peace, that they are no longer being tortured by the demons inside that led them to committing their many horrible crimes. No one deserves to feel that kind of pain after death, not even The Wards.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!

**Author's Note:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know your thoughts in a review below!
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


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